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http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/201 ... usion.html
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Venture Capital Likes Fusion
Venture Capital Likes Fusion
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
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CaptainBeowulf
- Posts: 498
- Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:35 am
I have only a basic understanding of the patent process. On the question of EMC2's patents which have expired and haven't been renewed - are they now open-source, or could someone else try to patent them? The last thing anyone should want, if this thing works, is patent trolls jumping in and screwing things up.
If you can make the original conception work, without any tinkering and as described in the original patent, then it is "open season" and the IPR can no longer be protected.
If some little patent-able tweak is required to make it tick, and EMC2 figure what that tweak is and patent it and there is no other way to do it than with that tweak, then they can maintain control of the thing.
The whole idea of patents is that so long as you are prepared to explain what you are doing, for the general betterment of mankind by the release of information, then in exchange society gives you a time-limited exclusive right. The alternative is just to make it without explaining what you are doing and for so long as no-one else figures it out, you then have a de-facto monopoly that could run-and-run.
In point of "philosophical principle"; on publication of the patent, the inventor is actually no longer 'the owner' but becomes the assignee, on behalf of society who now own it but who give the assignee a 20 year [from date of filing] exclusive exploitation right.
If some little patent-able tweak is required to make it tick, and EMC2 figure what that tweak is and patent it and there is no other way to do it than with that tweak, then they can maintain control of the thing.
The whole idea of patents is that so long as you are prepared to explain what you are doing, for the general betterment of mankind by the release of information, then in exchange society gives you a time-limited exclusive right. The alternative is just to make it without explaining what you are doing and for so long as no-one else figures it out, you then have a de-facto monopoly that could run-and-run.
In point of "philosophical principle"; on publication of the patent, the inventor is actually no longer 'the owner' but becomes the assignee, on behalf of society who now own it but who give the assignee a 20 year [from date of filing] exclusive exploitation right.