[Sigia-l] patent on navigation?

[Listera]

Livia Labate:

> UI patents are the silliest concept since... I don't know, Ms Boo.

I'm not a fan of UI patents.

However, if we accept the notion that interfaces[1] can be sufficiently
unique and original, I don't see a problem with granting them patents.

Now, can interfaces be original? If on December 8, 1968 no one had seen a
mouse and the following day (in perhaps the most famous demo in the history
of computer industry) Doug Engelbart unveiled the Mouse as we know it in
Menlo Park, was that worthy of a patent?

Real video
<http://vodreal.stanford.edu/engel/12engel200.ram>

If on October 22, 2001 no one had seen a circular hw/sw interface with
gliding finger acceleration and cascading menu navigation, and the following
day Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPod, was that worthy of a patent?

A case could be made for prior art in either case, but if we could stipulate
for a moment that they were indeed original, would you still deny them the
leverage of a patent?

And if you did, is it in the interest of the industry, users and design in
general?

Half a decade after the introduction of the original iMac and several
iterations later, the rest of the industry hasn't even come close to the
aesthetics, efficiency and appeal of the iMac design. Same can be said of
the iPod, iTunes, iTMS, etc. There have been brazen attempts at plagiarizing
the look and feel of trailblazing products like these. Patents allowed the
original developers some relief, without which they might not have the
incentive or the means the innovate.

People like me who don't like UI patents have a hard time with dealing with
the consequences of denying leverage for originality.


[1] By interface, I mean not just graphical presentation but the entirety of
human-device interaction, in hardware and software.

[x] Incidentally, when a patent holder modifies a design they routinely file
and often get awarded patent extensions.

---- 
Ziya

Best Practices,
For when you've run out of your own ideas and context.