Apple re-"invents" Xerox's "Location based services"

[kartu]

The patent that issued yesterday, RE42,927, is actually a reissue of a patent that Xerox received in 2000 and filed for in 1998. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple received ownership of the patent on December 17, 2009.

Patent summary:

A location information system that displays location specific information, the location information system, comprising: a receiver that receives location identification information from at least one site specific object identifying a location.Iadd., where the at least one site specific object is a beacon.Iaddend.; and a transceiver that transmits the location identification information to a distributed network and that receives the location specific information about the specified location from the distributed network based on the location identification information, wherein the location specific information provides information corresponding to the location.

Source.

PS
I guess Samsung's tablet would need not only to "lose" 3g module when being imported to US, but also to get rid of GPS chip.

[kjk]

Seems like a good candidate for FRAND/RAND status.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by kjk

Seems like a good candidate for FRAND/RAND status.

The "patent summary" isn't the patent, it's a description of what the patent does. Any company is free to make a device that does what is in the patent summary - they just can't use the particular method that the inventor patented to do so.

FRAND only applies to patents that are included in a particular standard adopted by a standard setting organization - I'm not sure whether that applies in this case.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

The "patent summary" isn't the patent, it's a description of what the patent does. Any company is free to make a device that does what is in the patent summary - they just can't use the particular method that the inventor patented to do so.

FRAND only applies to patents that are included in a particular standard adopted by a standard setting organization - I'm not sure whether that applies in this case.

Interesting! So unless there already exists a standards board that oversees "location based services" as part of the, say, mobile phone standards, they aren't even considered for FRAND/RAND status? I wonder if they ever work retroactively on stuff.

[Penforhire]

That first patent claim does read as very broad and potent. Hard to get around it. Perhaps a handicapped version that doesn't send out the user's device location to the network, but only receives?

[wodin]

Bah! The entire patent system is broken! Been going down hill ever since Albert quit being a clerk in Bern!

[Graham]

Originally Posted by wodin

Bah! The entire patent system is broken! Been going down hill ever since Albert quit being a clerk in Bern!

Let's face it, if even he couldn't fix it...

Graham

[kartu]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

FRAND only applies to patents that are included in a particular standard adopted by a standard setting organization - I'm not sure whether that applies in this case.

Indeed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but point of FRAND is "we accept your patented technology as a standard, you agree not to misbehave". This doesn't apply in this case.

[emellaich]

At least it only has six or seven years before it expires.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by kartu

Indeed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but point of FRAND is "we accept your patented technology as a standard, you agree not to misbehave". This doesn't apply in this case.

Exactly.