5 ms·

The opposite is true, in fact - a patent is a monopoly on the patented technology, no matter where alternative implementations come from. You might be thinking

The opposite is true, in fact - a patent is a monopoly on the patented technology, no matter where alternative implementations come from. You might be thinking of “clean room” techniques which protect against claims of copyright infringement.

nickjj 5y ago
> You might be thinking of “clean room” techniques which protect against claims of copyright infringement. Ah yes, that's what I was thinking of -- thanks. Specifically a scene from an episode of Halt and Catch Fire (I won't describe it due to spoilers). That's a real bummer for patents though and makes me wonder how something like Amazon's 1-click checkout was able to be patented. I wonder how "save billing details for future use" can be considered a novel idea.
- Dangeranger 5y ago
  I believe those scenes were an amalgamation of Tim Paterson’s clean room implementation of DOS from the CP/M manuals [0] and Compaq’s IBM compatible BIOS implementation[1]. They are a some of my favorites, and are fun to watch. [0] https://dfarq.homeip.net/did-microsoft-steal-dos-from-cpm/ https://dfarq.homeip.net/did-microsoft-steal-dos-from-cpm/ [1] https://dfarq.homeip.net/first-compaq-computer/ https://dfarq.homeip.net/first-compaq-computer/
- bccdee 5y ago
  > Amazon's 1-click checkout For a long time, software patenting law was famously lax. You could basically patent anything software-related if you knew the right legalese. The situation has apparently gotten better after a 2014 SCOTUS ruling, but in the '90s and '00s it was pretty dire. https://www.eff.org/issues/stupid-patent-month https://www.eff.org/issues/stupid-patent-month https://www.infoworld.com/article/2608772/the-battle-against-stupid-software-patents-is-on.html https://www.infoworld.com/article/2608772/the-battle-against...
kizer 5y ago
What's the thing where you have to license your patent? Like when it's used in a standard or something?
- 7steps2much 5y ago
  You might be talking about "Essentially Patents"? > Standards organizations, therefore, often require members disclose and grant licenses to their patents and pending patent applications that cover a standard that the organization is developing. > https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_patent https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_patent Please not that this is less of a "You have to offer licenses or else" and more of a "Hey please do that."

nickjj 5y ago

> You might be thinking of “clean room” techniques which protect against claims of copyright infringement. Ah yes, that's what I was thinking of -- thanks. Specifically a scene from an episode of Halt and Catch Fire (I won't describe it due to spoilers). That's a real bummer for patents though and makes me wonder how something like Amazon's 1-click checkout was able to be patented. I wonder how "save billing details for future use" can be considered a novel idea.

Dangeranger 5y ago
I believe those scenes were an amalgamation of Tim Paterson’s clean room implementation of DOS from the CP/M manuals [0] and Compaq’s IBM compatible BIOS implementation[1]. They are a some of my favorites, and are fun to watch. [0] https://dfarq.homeip.net/did-microsoft-steal-dos-from-cpm/ https://dfarq.homeip.net/did-microsoft-steal-dos-from-cpm/ [1] https://dfarq.homeip.net/first-compaq-computer/ https://dfarq.homeip.net/first-compaq-computer/
bccdee 5y ago
> Amazon's 1-click checkout For a long time, software patenting law was famously lax. You could basically patent anything software-related if you knew the right legalese. The situation has apparently gotten better after a 2014 SCOTUS ruling, but in the '90s and '00s it was pretty dire. https://www.eff.org/issues/stupid-patent-month https://www.eff.org/issues/stupid-patent-month https://www.infoworld.com/article/2608772/the-battle-against-stupid-software-patents-is-on.html https://www.infoworld.com/article/2608772/the-battle-against...

kizer 5y ago

What's the thing where you have to license your patent? Like when it's used in a standard or something?

7steps2much 5y ago
You might be talking about "Essentially Patents"? > Standards organizations, therefore, often require members disclose and grant licenses to their patents and pending patent applications that cover a standard that the organization is developing. > https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_patent https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_patent Please not that this is less of a "You have to offer licenses or else" and more of a "Hey please do that."