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There is a famous apple Newton commercial that talks about all the things it can do and will do. Fifteen years later they reshot the same commercial and simply

There is a famous apple Newton commercial that talks about all the things it can do and will do. Fifteen years later they reshot the same commercial and simply changed the name to “ipad” - fantastic proof of foresight.

jandrese 8y ago
Sometimes you have to just give the idea guy a pat on the head and wait for the technology to catch up. This is one reason I really hate the "do it on a computer" patents. Someone writes down the same idea everybody has that isn't quite feasible yet with today's technology and basically sits on it. Then when the technology matures to the point where it's practical they start suing everybody who is actually implementing it.
- davnicwil 8y ago
  Wow, I wasn't aware of this future tech patent-sitting thing. It's awful to think that this is possible. Does it really happen? Do you have any examples? How far can you take this? Does a patent have to be based in something that is vaguely implementable or can it literally just be a theoretical idea without concrete, detailed implementation specifics? I.e. could one patent things like the 'holodeck' idea today, and just wait around 50 years for it to get made, then cash in, or would that just be too ridiculous?
  - Sebb767 8y ago
    The lawsuit about Bluetooth comes to mind: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/06/broadcom_csr_bluetooth_lawsuit/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/06/broadcom_csr_blueto...
  - jandrese 8y ago
    Doing email on a phone[1] is the first example that comes to mind. Wasn't really possible with AMPS but they patented it anyway. The problem of course is that even after pulling all of the tricks to extend the life of your patent (extensions during filing, submarine patents, etc...), there is a hard time limit that you run into. If you're too ambitious the patents expire before the technology catches up and you get nothing. [1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/the-story-behind-the-blackberry-case https://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/the-s...

jandrese 8y ago

Sometimes you have to just give the idea guy a pat on the head and wait for the technology to catch up. This is one reason I really hate the "do it on a computer" patents. Someone writes down the same idea everybody has that isn't quite feasible yet with today's technology and basically sits on it. Then when the technology matures to the point where it's practical they start suing everybody who is actually implementing it.

davnicwil 8y ago
Wow, I wasn't aware of this future tech patent-sitting thing. It's awful to think that this is possible. Does it really happen? Do you have any examples? How far can you take this? Does a patent have to be based in something that is vaguely implementable or can it literally just be a theoretical idea without concrete, detailed implementation specifics? I.e. could one patent things like the 'holodeck' idea today, and just wait around 50 years for it to get made, then cash in, or would that just be too ridiculous?
- Sebb767 8y ago
  The lawsuit about Bluetooth comes to mind: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/06/broadcom_csr_bluetooth_lawsuit/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/06/broadcom_csr_blueto...
- jandrese 8y ago
  Doing email on a phone[1] is the first example that comes to mind. Wasn't really possible with AMPS but they patented it anyway. The problem of course is that even after pulling all of the tricks to extend the life of your patent (extensions during filing, submarine patents, etc...), there is a hard time limit that you run into. If you're too ambitious the patents expire before the technology catches up and you get nothing. [1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/the-story-behind-the-blackberry-case https://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/the-s...