Luma Labs put out of business by the USPTO

http://boingboing.net/2012/01/16/how-usptos-recklessness-dest.html

by gerggerg • 15 years ago

5 2 15 years ago

pwg• 15 years ago

Quote from the article:

>When a competitor of theirs filed for a patent on the idea, they weren't concerned. After all, Luma knew of prior art for their mechanism stretching all the way back to 1885.

So why, when they learned of the competitor filing for a patent on the idea, if they knew of this prior art, did they not send all of that knowledge to the patent office? Yes the patent office makes mistakes, yes the patent office often does not find a piece of prior art. But they (Luma) are at fault and share some of this blame for not sending all that stuff they knew about to the patent office once they learned of the competitor's filing.

gerggerg• 15 years ago

Totally agree that if they didn't offer up the prior art to prevent the patent in the first place then they should have. That said who knows if it would have made a difference. Regardless, I think the bigger issue is that even knowing the patent wouldn't stand up in court, like many tech patents, they have still chosen to close up shop in fear of going bankrupt defending themselves.

It's just another example, outside of tech, of the patent system hindering entrepreneurship and business instead of empowering it.

Luma Labs put out of business by the USPTO

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