Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
I'm pretty sure you can't patent and idea... you can only patent the implementation of an idea. So, I'm pretty sure this will go no where.
BOb
BTW: I am not a patent attorney. (thank god for that).
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Agreed.
Cause you got it backwards: patents *are* for ideas.
It is *copyright* that only covers implementation.
And, while the press has made no mention of it, the Alex announcement claims their dual-screen design is under patent. The patent may or not be finalized but it factors into the IP discussion. (And yes, it *is* possible to innocently infringe on a patent. You're still liable. Infringing *after* being informed leads to big awards *if* proven.)
However, claims under an NDA fall under *contract* law and those can get nasty (ask Microsoft over the fine print SUN slipped in on them when they licensed Java).
Finally, note that SD is *not* a troll operation, okay?
They are a small startup with a working product that they showed to B&N under NDA and then found B&A shipping a conceptually identical product.
Not my job to settle the argument here and now (we haven't heard B&N's side) but there is precedent for this situation:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Feb25.html
(Search Wikipedia for Robert Kearns for more detailss and links.)
Basically Mr Kearns invented intermitent wipers and got a patent, showed them to the automakers, who refused to license his idea but implemented it their own way afterwards. Took decades but he eventually won. And that was without the internet and mass media to support his case or even a lawyer.
There is meat to this case; it might be paper thin or it might be a mile wide, that is for the courts to decide. But don't assume that cause Nook is cute and white and Alex is black and unwieldy there is no case here; they are *not* suing under trade dress. And they're *not* suing under copyright. So whatever our opinions about copyright, patents and what-not, they are not at issue.
They are suing under an NDA and that is a contract; in contracts there are two sides. How about giving both sides a bit of respect here?
The first test of how strong a case SD has is coming up quick: they asked for an injunction to keep Nook off the market. Let's see what the judge says, huh?