6 ms·
> Note how similar this is to the pulse oximeter, which was invented in Japan in 1972 and patented in the US in 2004. How could an invention from 1972, which I
by oldgradstudent 2y ago
> Note how similar this is to the pulse oximeter, which was invented in Japan in 1972 and patented in the US in 2004.
How could an invention from 1972, which I assume was publically disclosed around that time, be patented in 2004?
Were the details kept secret for 32 years?
- jolmg 2y agoIt's the same person in both patents, Takuo Aoyagi. You can register a patent in separate jurisdictions, because they're separate jurisdictions.
- oldgradstudent 2y agoYou can, but a patent is still limited to around 20 years. How can a 1972 invention be still be patented in 2004?
- SSLy 2y agoBecause the USAnian companies kept lobbying to keep the Patent Office working that way.
- nozzlegear 2y ago> USAnian Do you mean American? Or US and Asian?
- ASalazarMX 2y agoI think he means specifically (and sardonically) a neodemonym for the the United states of North America. For most of its inhabitants, America is the name of the continent, not a single country.
- ddulaney 2y agoOften used by people who are American (from the Americas) but not from the US. Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, and the rest of North and South America.
- havella 2y agoIt’s Colombia, not Columbia
- HappySweeney 2y agoCanadians don't use that.
- Snoozus 2y agoThey might start soon
- ThatMedicIsASpy 2y agoThis is the first time I have seen this in my life.
- crazygringo 2y agoNo it's not. In English, American means from the US, and there's no word to refer to an inhabitants of the Americas (both continents combined). You can say North American or South American if you want, though. Since those are continents. You won't find "USAnian" in any authoritative published dictionary, not even the OED: https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=USAnian https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=USAni...
- TheSpiceIsLife 2y agoUrban dictionary has an entry from 2007 https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=usanians https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=usanians And anyway, official dictionaries are largely historical records, not authoritative sources for living languages. Words mean what people who use them intend them to mean.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- nicoburns 2y agoBecause the patent system is broken
- pjc50 2y agoSee discussion on first-to-file: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43125638 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43125638 The "clock" does not start when the invention happens, which is anyway a very hard thing to pin down. But as you say, it creates very counter intuitive results.
- NotYourLawyer 2y ago1. That’s not how first-to-file works. It’s a sadly common misunderstanding. 2. This case was from way before first-to-file even went into effect anyway.
- NotYourLawyer 2y agoI haven’t looked at the patent documents, but I’d bet money it’s not the same. The later US patent is probably for an improvement on the original device.
- theli0nheart 2y agoIt must have been different in some key way, or the 1972 invention lacked several key improvements that the 2004 patent claimed.