Difference between revisions of "Cabinet for the blind example"
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(→References: ==External links== * [http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2010/09/in-defense-of-software-patents-part-2.html in defense of software patents - part 2], 14 Sep 2010, '''Martin Goetz''' * [) |
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| + | * [http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2010/09/in-defense-of-software-patents-part-2.html in defense of software patents - part 2], 14 Sep 2010, '''Martin Goetz''' | ||
| + | * [http://www.planetpatent.com/Patents/US6052663.pdf US6052663] - "''Reading system which reads aloud from an image representation of a document''", granted 18 Apr 2000 | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 09:18, 26 October 2010
In the cabinet for the blind example, a person develops a cabinet which reads books out loud. What's in the cabinet? Does the contents of the cabinet change whether the idea is a patentable invention? The cabinet could contain:
- Innovative hardware
- Software running on a standard computer
- A person
Contents
1980 amicus brief from Martin Goetz
When arguing that software should be patentable, Martin Goetz presented the example thusly:[1]
An inventor demonstrates his new invention to his patent attorney with great pride; he has developed a cabinet for reading books out loud to the blind. The cabinet contains both a reading and talking computer. After the demonstration, the patent attorney responds:
What's inside the cabinet? Did you build it with software or hardware (a stored program or hardware circuitry)? If built with a hardware program, your machine would be patentable. But if you built it with a stored program, the Patent Office would say it was merely mathematics and, therefore, unpatentable.”
Related pages on ESP Wiki
External links
- in defense of software patents - part 2, 14 Sep 2010, Martin Goetz
- US6052663 - "Reading system which reads aloud from an image representation of a document", granted 18 Apr 2000
