Photos on a white background? Watch out...

[Simpo Two]

Or expect a visit from the nice people at Amazon...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/09/amazon_gra...

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT...




I thought I had too much time but clearly some people have even more.

[GetCarter]

Ridiculous.

[crmcatee]

Heads off to register 'Taking photographs with a black background'.

Just working on the wording of my preferred embodiment.

[Simpo Two]

Good idea. Search and replace 'white' for 'black'.

I'm off to do 'blue' and define the wavelength range in nanometres...

[MartinP]

Love to know how they're going to convince anyone that's at all novel.

Maybe I can patent spot colour and stop it from ever being used again.

[RobbieKB]

Good luck enforcing that. Surely there has to be more context to that patent.

[V8LM]

Prior art, inventiveness, obviousness, all render that (almost) useless.

[baz7175]

Simpo Two said:

Good idea. Search and replace 'white' for 'black'.

I'm off to do 'blue' and define the wavelength range in nanometres...

Go for Angstroms, just for good measure

[ExPat2B]

For a good laugh take a look at the diagram that accompanies it. Makes it fairly obvious its a patent troll.

[Xerstead]

I've seen this come up on a couple of photography pages. One of the more sensible replies suggested that this was a defensive move to stop others claiming it for themselves and trying to sue Amazon.

[LongQ]

I wonder if you could patent patenting?

Might get away with it in the States.

[agent006]

Define white.

[Simpo Two]

255:255:255?

[GetCarter]

1. ffffff ?

[Otispunkmeyer]

equal portions of every wavelength in the range 390 to 780 nm?

[Simpo Two]

Define portion!

[crmcatee]

Simpo Two said:

Define portion!

[Elderly]

I doubt that they could file that patent as I believe somebody might have used that technique publicly already ....... I quote:

"A patent may only be granted for an invention that is new (the requirement of novelty). Under English law, an invention is new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The UK Patents Act 1977 states that the state of the art in the case of an invention is taken to comprise everything (whether it is a product, a process, information, or anything else) that has at any time before the priority date of the patent been made available to the public (whether in the UK or elsewhere) by written or oral description, or by use in any other way."

[crmcatee]

Yes - but the patent was given in the US.

[LongQ]

Elderly said:

I doubt that they could file that patent as I believe somebody might have used that technique publicly already ....... I quote:

"A patent may only be granted for an invention that is new (the requirement of novelty). Under English law, an invention is new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The UK Patents Act 1977 states that the state of the art in the case of an invention is taken to comprise everything (whether it is a product, a process, information, or anything else) that has at any time before the priority date of the patent been made available to the public (whether in the UK or elsewhere) by written or oral description, or by use in any other way."

Here


Seems to have number but it's not entirely clear whether it is approved or still in process.