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It hurts innovation that something this simple is able to be patented.
by nynx 5y ago
It hurts innovation that something this simple is able to be patented.
- garyfirestorm 5y agoif it were that simple we wouldnt have heard about it for the first time in 2021 right?
- nynx 5y agoSomething taking a while for someone to think of it doesn't mean that only one organization should be allowed to make it. It took hundreds of thousands of years for people to come up with the wheel. The concept of the wheel isn't patented.
- function_seven 5y agoPatentability has nothing to do with complexity. It's about novelty. If the wheel were invented today, it absolutely would be patented. And for 20 years or whatever, the genius that solved that particular problem would reap well-deserved rewards for such a clever solution. As far as this invention is concerned, I don't know enough about bicycling to know if this is something that's been considered and discarded before, or if literally nobody else has thought of it. Either way, I think that makes it patentable. Either everyone else decided it wasn't worth it—and therefore nothing of value is being locked away by this patent—or they couldn't figure it out and therefore this is a novel invention for which the inventors should be rewarded for their R&D time.
- upofadown 5y agoThing that can cause controlled movement. Find all the places where controlled movement is desired. Combine. Iterate. What is likely worse is that this probably isn't at all practical and does not constitute an invention. It likely came out of a general call for patentable ideas from the engineering department. Ford will never ever do anything with this. It is only useful for preventing innovation outside of Ford.