• @finitebanjo@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    915 hours ago

    More like he wouldn’t be able to sell his solution to others, but yeah I think Patents on simple processes and mechanisms are dumb, especially certain software and firmware.

    • @BigPotato@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1511 hours ago

      Imagine if you had a hammer and decided to use it to hit a nail and then someone came along and said “I see you’re using my method to build a house! Pay up!”

      Well, you can’t patent something like that!

      Imagine you open up a game engine, any engine, and decide you need to point to an objective so you decide to use an arrow. A game company says “You’re using our method to identify objectives! Pay up!” and that one is a unique mechanic?

      How long has humanity been using arrows to point to things? How can you patent it just because it’s a digital arrow?

        • @BigPotato@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          025 minutes ago

          The ludicrousness is the point. “Capture a creature in a ball”… How close is that to Red Dead’s lasso? Could Nintendo patent capturing a creature with a rope? Does anyone hold that patent yet? No, it would be silly to try to patent something like that - yet at one point I’m certain it was someone’s “technique” while everyone else was jumping on the horses back like Breath of the Wild.

          • @finitebanjo@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            1
            edit-2
            9 minutes ago
            1. This thread started with a general statement about patent laws with a glaring innacuracy that it applied to noncommercial applications and in perpetuity. That is what I argued against. I fully support PalWorld.

            2. If that were Nintendo’s justification they would lose instantly. You can patent and/or claim intellectual property for very specific named designs, but you cannot do so for vague narrative concepts. Example: PokeBalls in various colorschemes is a go, but “a ball that capture creatures” is not good enough to patent.

          • @finitebanjo@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            -11
            edit-2
            10 hours ago

            No, the very premise of that user’s analogy is that he isn’t profiting from it. If somebody invented hammering nails literally this year and a company came in selling it as a product without permission, then it would be comparable. It reads as if he failed to read my comment entirely but still replied with multiple paragraphs.

            The game development analogy is better, floating arrows about characters heads was actually patented, but it was widely criticized and it expired in 2019. Plus I already took offense to simple mechanisms and especially certain software and firmware solutions.

              • @finitebanjo@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                -810 hours ago

                Countless buildings would never be built if you didnt invent hammer and nails, being paid royalties for a few years by large businesses who make use of it seems pretty fair.

                  • @finitebanjo@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    2
                    edit-2
                    10 hours ago

                    We’re very clearly not talking about history, we’re talking about the ridiculous hypothetical of if Hammering Nails to build Houses was patented today.

                    I can understand why you’d think that was fucking silly, my original response to it was “jfc this guy”