An idea I suggested in a Slashdot comment over a year ago goes on to win a Time Magazine Best Inventions 2006 award. Typical.
Yes, yes, I know, ideas are ten a penny, and the value’s in the execution not the concept. Still, I like to keep track of these little non-victories.
wild electrons
From your third link — “To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed.” — you just need to patent every darn idea you get. Then when someone else executes, you cash in! Not that I advocate that at all of course. Come, tell me all your great ideas ;)
November 8th, 2006 1:17 pm
Chris
Don’t you need to have an actual working design in order to patent it? I’m not sure my vague idea would have been patentable.
November 8th, 2006 3:14 pm
wild electrons
I think that’s not the case. I’m thinking about (a) the millions of patents for “unlimited energy” devices, (b) patents that cannot exist yet eg. tablet pc from apple or the newest microsoft contraptions, (c) patents that protect a recipe (eg. how to make a certain drug) even if the recipe fails.
I suspect it’s more a case of having a “good enough” indication that, if built, it would work.
Coming back to your vague idea, if you had made it suitably precise with some definate “embodiments”, had shown that it could in principle be built, had shown that it was in some (even if obscure) way novel, and had shown that it was not obvious to someone skilled “in the art”, then you could have filed for a patent, in either the UK, or another country (or any combination, but each application is separate even within the EU, believe it or not), assuming that you had the necessary funds to do so. Having a patent is not the end of the story, because you have to do the policing yourself (more cash) and then you have to take the patent infringers to court and defend it yourself (more cash).
Often it works out simpler to sell your ideas to someone else, then moan because you lost out on The Great CashCow while they rake it in.
Of course, nowadays the system is often abused, but we still need it.
November 8th, 2006 5:14 pm