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| Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, June 11 2012 @ 02:22 PM EDT |
The invention of the Jacquard loom *makes* the combination of any punchcard with
the loom obvious, because that is the intended purpose of the Jacquard loom.
The invention of the general-purpose computer *makes* the combination of any
mathematical algorithm (software) with the general-purpose computer obvious,
because that is the intended purpose of the general-purpose computer.
The invention of the automobile *makes* the combination of any collection of
stuff loaded inside the automobile with the automobile obvious, because that is
the intended purpose of the automobile.
Is the punchcard by itself patentable? No, because it's not a machine or
industrial process, it's an abstract representation of information. It is
copyrightable.
Is the software by itself patentable? No, becauseNo, because it's not a machine
or industrial process, it's an abstract representation of information (in this
case mathematics). It is copyrightable.
Is the stuff loaded in the car by itself patentable? Maybe not, or maybe it is.
It's NOT an abstract representation of information, so it could perfectly well
be patentable.[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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| Authored by: Wol on Monday, June 11 2012 @ 02:46 PM EDT |
Sticking with your hardwired loom, your new loom MAY be patentable, because it
is a new special-purpose piece of hardware dedicated to making a particular
pattern. It's hardware, it solves a problem, it is eligible for a patent.
Then along comes the general-purpose loom that is capable of making ANY pattern.
Programming it to produce a pattern identical your hardwired loom is NOT
patentable, because the general purpose loom is simply doing what it was
designed to do - making a pattern - ANY pattern. The fact that the pattern is
identical to your pattern is irrelevant.
And more to the point, it is also not a patent violation, because (as the patent
system is supposed to encourage) the General Purpose loom works around your
patent on your particular wiring pattern.
Cheers,
Wol[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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