I'm not sure the comparison of the slide lock to a cubicle
door...matters. If the patent is written so that the slide lock is described as
a method to prevent accidental actuation of controls on a touch sensitive
surface, which is precisely its purpose, then it may well be a novel mechanical
patent which applies only to functional devices
So if I can write
my patent for a slide lock for a cubicle as a method to prevent acidental
actuation of the door, which is precisely its purpose (to prevent embarrassment
of the user of the cubicle - how often have I been embarrassed by my phone
unlocking itself and calling someone), then it may well be a novel mechanical
patent.
I don't think so. I've only patented the idea of the slide
lock, not the actual method, or mechanism, of the lock and so proscribed others
from the possibility of using any kind of slide lock. - as long as it's a
slide lock it'd be covered by my patent!
That is the problem of most
software patents: they patent the idea of the solution, not the mechanism of an
implementation of the idea, [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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