Patent Office bad decision on cell-phone location services.
This was on Dave Farber's list. If the press release is to be believed, it's a patent on using a wireless handset to deliver information that's dependent on where you are, such as telling you the nearest MacDonald's. - handset-based services granted now, network-based pending. I'm not sure how broad their patent claims are, as opposed to their marketing PR (:-), but it sounds like it's way over-broad, steps on lots of things that should be obvious enough to anyone skilled in the trade, and sounds like Yet Another Stupid Patent Office Trick. ..."U.S. patent office has conditionally allowed Cell-Loc to claim the delivery of handset-based wireless location content and services over the Internet as its property, regardless of technological method employed." http://www.cell-loc.com/mdnews/NR000516.html Unfortunately, after downloading the half megabyte of animated Web Designer Candy that serves as their main web page, it wasn't possible to get to any real information... Thanks! Bill Bill Stewart, [EMAIL PROTECTED] PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639
Re: Patent Office bad decision on cell-phone location services.
I look at this patent as a good thing. It means that the "Put a GPS in your cell-phone" just became more expensive. It means that the WAP-consortium can't sell your privacy without paying royalties to cel-loc. So cheap phones won't have the feature. Cool. Adam On Wed, May 24, 2000 at 01:01:13AM -0700, Bill Stewart wrote: | | This was on Dave Farber's list. | If the press release is to be believed, it's a patent on | using a wireless handset to deliver information that's | dependent on where you are, such as telling you the nearest MacDonald's. | - handset-based services granted now, network-based pending. | I'm not sure how broad their patent claims are, | as opposed to their marketing PR (:-), but it sounds like it's | way over-broad, steps on lots of things that should be obvious enough | to anyone skilled in the trade, and sounds like Yet Another | Stupid Patent Office Trick. -- "It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -Hume
