 r81984Fair and BalancedPremium
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·AT&T DSL Service
 ·row44
| reply to Morac
Re: Time to buy... I read the patents. They are too broad. I would say VCRs, laser disc players, and computers were doing those things before Tivo.
Those patents are for broad ideas that they did not event. They did not patent anything specific. I just cannot see how they think they have a right to pretend they invented those 3 functions.
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KenAF
join:2006-01-23
Arlington, VA | There's no such thing as a patent on an idea. Patents are on the process / implementation (i.e. how to do it). In Tivo's case, the patents are on the hardware and software means to implement a DVR on low-cost hardware. Prior patents addressed other implementations where the cost of the hardware was not a concern; those patents were used to create $50,000 to $200,000 DVRs for military and industrial use. You can't build a $200 DVR with those patents using today's technology.
There's a good reason why virtually every manufacturer implemented the TiVo patent and not one of the few DVR patents that preceded it. Some obviously feel that TiVo patent is too broad, and that it is too difficult to work around. Of course, well-written patents are supposed to be difficult to work around, so that the inventor is compensated for their work for a period of 20 years. The patent system would be worthless if anyone could take a patent and then make an insignificant change to avoid infringement. |
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r81984Fair and BalancedPremium
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX Reviews:
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T DSL Service
·row44
| said by KenAF:There's no such thing as a patent on an idea. Patents are on the process / implementation (i.e. how to do it). In Tivo's case, the patents are on the hardware and software means to implement a DVR on low-cost hardware. Prior patents addressed other implementations where the cost of the hardware was not a concern; those patents were used to create $50,000 to $200,000 DVRs for military and industrial use. You can't build a $200 DVR with those patents using today's technology. There's a good reason why virtually every manufacturer implemented the TiVo patent and not one of the few DVR patents that preceded it. Some obviously feel that TiVo patent is too broad, and that it is too difficult to work around. Of course, well-written patents are supposed to be difficult to work around, so that the inventor is compensated for their work for a period of 20 years. The patent system would be worthless if anyone could take a patent and then make an insignificant change to avoid infringement. If you read the patents they are specifically for an idea.
It is not for actual hardware or software.
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 Morac
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1
 ·Comcast
| said by r81984:If you read the patents they are specifically for an idea. It is not for actual hardware or software. Abstract Ideas aren't patentable, but the embodiment of a specific idea is.
So for example, "recording TV" can't be patented. A 61 step process on how to record TV is patentable.
BTW those 61 steps embody the TiVo hardware and software.
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