[OT] Patents in the USofA [WAS]Re: 2nd generation VCFs (was: Xpander VCF)

[Jim Patchell]

    Guess I'll add my $0.02.

    I have seen some pattents that seem to pattent things that have been around
a long time.  Then again, I have to admit that I am not really sure what it is
that you have to put into a patent to make it valid.....

    One that I saw that had to do with the industry that I am in, the company
seemed to have gotten a pattent on the Phase Lock Loop.  It was a relatively
recent patent (no older than 15 years), but some of the drawings looked like
they came right out of the CA4046 data sheet from RCA.  I would have to tend to
agree that here in the U.S., the patent office is not very careful about what
they give patents out for.

    -Jim

"jh." wrote:

> >    I've got the feeling (and my coleagues too) that it is relatively easy
> >    to obtain an US patent. They don't seem to check very much if it works,
> >    if it makes sense or if anything previous like this exists.
> >
> > Why would you say that?  :-)
> >   http://www.delphion.com/details?pn=US05443036__
> >
> > (Or check out the others in the "Gallery of Obscure Patents",
> > http://www.delphion.com/gallery )
>
> Great stuff. I wonder what painful experience someone has to
> go thru until he finally invents a device that fights back on
> graffiti sprayers !
>
> But seriously, I've been told you can get a patent for almost
> *everything*, as long as you're restricting your claims to a
> certain application. But whether the patent is of much use
> or not in that case is a different question. The more general
> your claims, the more difficult to get the patent (and the more
> useful, if you get the patent). If, OTOH, you're filing a patent
> with very restricted claims, you will get it easily, and it may
> be useful for you if you're working on just that restricted
> field - but useless to fight claims outside that field.
> Which is just ok in many cases.
> You may not believe it, but I am more or less holding two
> patents for good old cubic splines - but just restricted for
> a certain way of modelling devices for circuit simulation (;->).
>
> JH.