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Comments on Samsung Cites 'Space Odyssey' Newspad Against iPad In Patent Suit
Should a science fiction movie be used as 'prior art' in a patent dispute? (Read the complete story)

"While it's been a while since I studied how patents work, one of the prime examples I remember was of an inventor who was called in to figure out how to raise a sunken Yatch without damaging it. After the engineers couldn't figure out how to do it, he looked at their attempts and in much less time came up with a simple solution... and the patent office wouldn't allow it to be patented because he'd seen essentially the same thing in a children's cartoon. (fill the boat with what was essentially ping-pong balls, until they'd replaced enough of the water with air and floated the boat to the surface) So, while I can't answer as to whether it's current patent law, this definitely would have been a valid case in the relatively recent past."
(Ashley 8/24/2011 7:32:59 PM)
"Sooo, no one can patent a tablet computer? That's what it looks like Samsung is trying to prove. This is a VERY slippery slope, in my opinion, siting a SciFi movie or story would cause thousands of patents to be revoked."
(Dewtey 8/25/2011 9:33:37 AM)
"Have to disagree with Dewtey - this is just the sort of thing that SHOULD stop a patent from being issued. Once the concept of something enters mainstream use (eg: personal communicators, pad computer terminals, etc) no one should be able to gain complete control of the idea. Control of a specific implementation/operating system is available, but not of the entire concept."
(Russ 8/25/2011 10:52:15 AM)
"Besides, there have been tons of tablet PC's before the iPad. Perhaps Apple can patent certain systems of gesture/touch recognition and graphic display... but the entire form-factor? Don't make me laugh. Besides, Apple's entire business model is to take under-utilized prior-art and polish it to the point of mass acceptance. All the way back to Englebart Humperdink and his mouse, and the Icons, menus, and "windows" of the Xerox PARC. When your entire business model is based on that, you don't get the right to try and keep others from doing the same to you, IMO. "
(AJ Dual 8/25/2011 5:51:25 PM)
"Now that Steve Jobs has officially stepped down, Apple's new business model is not going to be new, innovative products. That was Steve's job. The new business model will be the pursuit of patents, and sueing the crap out of anybody that dares to think against Apple."
(Joey1058 8/26/2011 10:15:57 AM)
"Time to bring back Scully! MUWAHAHAHAHAH..."
(AJ Dual 8/26/2011 8:03:31 PM)
"Dewtey: Of course, if you look at the history of it, the US almost didn't _have_ patent law. It just barely managed to squeak through and actually get on the books in the first place, specifically because of fears of abuse. The only reason the US finally decided to actually have patent/copyright/etc laws was because European companies were stealing American ideas, mass producing them, and selling them in the US at a loss just to undercut the American developers of the ideas to try to recapture the US economically. And even with that, you should read some of the arguments they had in congress over the whole deal."
(Ashley 8/31/2011 9:19:26 AM)
"If Steve Jobs were to design a table, it would look just like the one designed for that scene in the movie. This is what happens when you mix youth, LSD, and Kubrick produce sci-fi film He executes well, but i'm further convinced his designs are merely derivative and generally obvious"
(alien 9/2/2011 10:22:07 AM)

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