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

[danial stocks]

OTOH, I heard of a patent application for a method of recovering sunken 
ships by filling them with buoyant material such as styrofoam pellets which 
was denied because of a disney catoon where donald duck tried to float a 
ship by filling it with ping pong balls !
>
>     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.
>

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