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The Supreme Court has already rejected Morse Code as being patentable | 364 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Exactly - and a coolios idea
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 05 2013 @ 01:45 PM EST

So what do you expect the result to be if some Lawyers tried to argue that a string of morse code 10 MBytes in size should be patentable because it was so complex?

I was thinking about morse last night. And I thought:

    How cool would it be to use Morse to access a computer (like a user) right there in front of the Supremes?
    How much cooler would it be to user Morse to program the computer right there in front of the Supremes?
You would have to prep the computer of course. You'd need an input mechanism hooked up to receive the basic electronic signal that a telegraph key would provide. You'd also have to set up your own language/app and prep it with some uses in advance.

You pull someone in that knows morse. And then you have them play out a few settings:

    Command: Display hello world
    Entry: -.. .. ... .--. .-.. .- -.--
    .... . .-.. .-.. ---
    .-- --- .-. .-.. -..
    Result: On the big screen the command is repeated along with the result "Display hello world: Hello World"
Next:
    Command: Calculate right angle triangle a equal 3 b equal 4
    Entry: -.-. .- .-.. -.-. ..- .-.. .- - .
    .-. .. --. .... -
    .- -. --. .-.. .
    - .-. .. .- -. --. .-.. .
    .-
    . --.- ..- .- .-..
    ...--
    -...
    . --.- ..- .- .-..
    ....-
    Result: On the big screen, the command is displayed along with a drawing of a right angle triangle, A side at 3 units, B side at 4 units, C side at 5 units, C corner labeled 90 degrees, A corner labeled 36.87 degrees, B corner labeled 53.13 degrees, area displayed as 6 square units.
Those examples clearly would show the use of the device - people who use Internet Explorer for example.

Then you give an example of programming the device. First start with the use:

    Command: calculate interest principal equal 5000 rate equal 2 year equal 5
    Entry: -.-. .- .-.. -.-. ..- .-.. .- - .
    .. -. - . .-. . ... -
    .--. .-. .. -. -.-. .. .--. .- .-..
    . --.- ..- .- .-..
    ..... ----- ----- -----
    .-. .- - .
    . --.- ..- .- .-..
    ..---
    - .. -- .
    . --.- ..- .- .-..
    .....
    -.-- . .- .-. ...
    Result: On the big screen the command is displayed along with "Error, calculation 'Interest' unknown"
That shows it hasn't been programmed yet. Now you're going to have the morse data entry program it.
    Command: Let interest equal principal times rate times year divided by 100
    Entry: .-.. . -
    .. -. - . .-. . ... -
    . --.- ..- .- .-..
    .--. .-. .. -. -.-. .. .--. .- .-..
    - .. -- . ...
    .-. .- - .
    - .. -- . ...
    -.-- . .- .-.
    -.. .. ...- .. -.. . -..
    -... -.--
    .---- ----- -----
    Result: On the big screen the command is displayed along with "Interest formula programmed as Principal * Rate * Year / 100"
Then you repeat the previous Calculate request leaving the result as:
    On the big screen the request along with "Interest: 500"
You've just shown that a modern day computer could be programmed by morse with the only change being a new data entry point and the appropriate software to communicate with said 2 character input mechanism - of course specifically designed for very simple data entry. Let's have that person entering the morse perform as little work as possible while showing programming commands as well as use comes out of the devices available by doing:
    The EXACT same thing!
Do you think that example - being performed right in front of the Supremes - would convince them software is nothing but abstract?

I think it'd be pretty convincing!

:)

RAS

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

The Supreme Court has already rejected Morse Code as being patentable
Authored by: dio gratia on Saturday, January 05 2013 @ 10:32 PM EST

I went and read O'Reilly v. Morse and U.S. Patent . The issues were whether or not Samuel F. B. Morse invented the telegraph for which there was no qualified prior art requiring printed publication at the time and claim 8 as both being abstract and lacking enablement.

Claim 3:

3. The use, system, formation, and arrangement of type and of signs, for transmitting intelligence between distant points, by the application of electro-magnetism, and metallic conductors combined with mechanism, described in the foregoing specification."
Claim 3 is for an apparatus used along with type (as in typesetting) containing encoded signs. Several drawings limit the signs (now Morse Code) and type used by the apparatus which used the type to transmit signals telegraphically whereupon the signs would be printed electrically at a receiving station through embossing. Claim 3 is limited by the apparatus described in the specification.

Claim 9 also limits the use of signs and type to the apparatus of the patent:

9. The combination and mutual adaptation of the several parts of the mechanism and system of type and of signs, with and to the dictionary or vocabulary of words, as described in the foregoing specification.

Morse described a Telegraph key in 1854, which could be used to manual key Morse Code. This about the time the patent expired. In effect no one tried to claim abstracts (the signs themselves as signals) other than by extension claim 8:

8. The combination and arrangement of electro-magnets, in one or more circuits of metallic conductors, with armatures of magnets, for transmitting intelligence by signs and sounds, or either, between distant points, and to different points simultaneously."
Which was held to be invalid for lack of enablement and as abstract for enclosing all uses of electrical telegraphy.

Further what became widely known as International Morse Code isn't the signs in the patent. It's relatively easy to remember SOS which is ...---..., while in signs it would be .-....-. (from the patent drawing Figure 1). Morse Code post dates the patent, developed for the first telegraph line funded by the U.S. Congress.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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