The JPEG patent
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clickety[^] From a quick glance at the abstract, it looks like it could apply to any form of compression for data transferred over some form of network :-/ Can someone remind me how long patents last for. This one was filed in 1986 -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
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clickety[^] From a quick glance at the abstract, it looks like it could apply to any form of compression for data transferred over some form of network :-/ Can someone remind me how long patents last for. This one was filed in 1986 -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
benjymous wrote: Can someone remind me how long patents last for. This one was filed in 1986 It depends on the patent ... usually, a patent lasts for 50 years before being public domain (that enables the creator to live quietly at least 50 years...), but some will only last 2 or 5 or 10 years because the inventor would not pay too much for it. ~RaGE();
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clickety[^] From a quick glance at the abstract, it looks like it could apply to any form of compression for data transferred over some form of network :-/ Can someone remind me how long patents last for. This one was filed in 1986 -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
From a quick glance at the abstract, it looks like it could apply to any form of compression for data transferred over some form of network :-/ Ummm, no. Not in a million years. That just isn't how patents work. They have to explicitly state what the patent is on. This greatly limits the scope. Tim Smith I know what you're thinking punk, you're thinking did he spell check this document? Well, to tell you the truth I kinda forgot myself in all this excitement. But being this here's CodeProject, the most powerful forums in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question, Do I feel lucky? Well do ya punk?
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benjymous wrote: Can someone remind me how long patents last for. This one was filed in 1986 It depends on the patent ... usually, a patent lasts for 50 years before being public domain (that enables the creator to live quietly at least 50 years...), but some will only last 2 or 5 or 10 years because the inventor would not pay too much for it. ~RaGE();
From memory, a patent’s life is 20 years unless it is owned by a corporation then it is 50 years. If a corporation acquires the patent from an individual then the 50 year time span begins from the date the corporation acquired the patent. A corporation can renew the patent for another 25 years. It’s been a while since I read about patent laws so I might be wrong.
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clickety[^] From a quick glance at the abstract, it looks like it could apply to any form of compression for data transferred over some form of network :-/ Can someone remind me how long patents last for. This one was filed in 1986 -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
I'm not sure how far this one is going to get. Some years ago another firm came out with a similar claim on a lock for PC multipedia (basically anything that does sound on a PC). They did not get very far in the courts. Another firm claimed the rights to the word "Windows" (I believe they were called Windows Labs). They wanted to license any firm with a product that used their word. They also died on the vine. Notice that the letters JPEG do not appear anywhere in the referenced patent text. JPEG has been the equivalent of public domain for a decade or two. Once the cat is out of the bag, the legal system may be reluctant to suck it back in the bag. The following URL has some info on JPEG. http://www.jpeg.org/public/jpeghomepage.htm Who knows where this one will go, but my guess is that it will disappear. Ed
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clickety[^] From a quick glance at the abstract, it looks like it could apply to any form of compression for data transferred over some form of network :-/ Can someone remind me how long patents last for. This one was filed in 1986 -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
Patents are valid for 17 years; copyrights last for 50, and the heirs can renew them. I'm a Frisbeeterian. We believe that when you die your soul is thrown up on the roof, and you can't get it down.
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clickety[^] From a quick glance at the abstract, it looks like it could apply to any form of compression for data transferred over some form of network :-/ Can someone remind me how long patents last for. This one was filed in 1986 -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
patents are 20 years past filing date or 17 years past approval date (i think). anyway, here's a quote from Tom Lane, the guy who is essentially responsible for the widespread adoption of Jpeg (because he is the main force and author of the free, wonderful, perfect, and universally used IJG's JpegLib): "It's hard to see how anyone who can count higher than two would think that this patent covers JPEG." and even better, there's a technical reason why he used the number "three", having to do with a specific claim in the patent which JPEG only uses two of (yes, patents are that specific). the message is from the IJG mailing list, which you can find on line yourself, so i won't quote it all here. but, suffice to say that he knows about the issue, has read the patent, has discussed it with others and is still not worried - except that the company who's claiming this will use it to "muscle money out of various targets". i'll put my faith in Mr Lane. if there's anyone who knows JPG, it's him. -c
To explain Donald Knuth's relevance to computing is like explaining Paul's relevance to the Catholic Church. He isn't God, he isn't the Son of God, but he was sent by God to explain God to the masses.
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patents are 20 years past filing date or 17 years past approval date (i think). anyway, here's a quote from Tom Lane, the guy who is essentially responsible for the widespread adoption of Jpeg (because he is the main force and author of the free, wonderful, perfect, and universally used IJG's JpegLib): "It's hard to see how anyone who can count higher than two would think that this patent covers JPEG." and even better, there's a technical reason why he used the number "three", having to do with a specific claim in the patent which JPEG only uses two of (yes, patents are that specific). the message is from the IJG mailing list, which you can find on line yourself, so i won't quote it all here. but, suffice to say that he knows about the issue, has read the patent, has discussed it with others and is still not worried - except that the company who's claiming this will use it to "muscle money out of various targets". i'll put my faith in Mr Lane. if there's anyone who knows JPG, it's him. -c
To explain Donald Knuth's relevance to computing is like explaining Paul's relevance to the Catholic Church. He isn't God, he isn't the Son of God, but he was sent by God to explain God to the masses.
/. #3848917Chris Losinger wrote: patents are 20 years past filing date or 17 years past approval date (i think). So basically it's a case of: "What patents do we have that are going to expire soon?" "Um, there's this bandwidth usage reduction, um, thingy" "PERFECT - let's see, Gif's already been used, hyperlinks have been taken, but it really doesn't fit that, what about Jpegs?" "I'll phone our lawyers straight away, sir" -- Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit!
