Re: Patent 4,734,690

Jason Ozolins <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.games.devel.opengl
Organization Fat City Network Services, San Diego, California
Message-ID <[email protected]>
Brandon J. Van Every wrote:
> Daniele Benegiamo wrote:
> 
>>It's seems very important because if the patent is valid no modern 3D
>>can be done without royalties...
>>
>>>More specifically, we are looking for prior art (textbooks,
>>>references, articles, or other publications) with a date of
>>>publication of before July 23, 1983 which would invalidate the '690
>>>patent.
> 
> 
> If the patent was filed in 1983, then in the USA it expired in 2000.

Sadly, the patent granted is a continuation of one originally filed in July 
1984.  The prior art has to pre-date a year before the filing time, apparently.

The newer patent was granted in 1988.  I don't understand continuations, but 
wearing my Glasses of Cynicism +5, their effect seems to be to allow you to 
file a patent before you actually know very much about what you are trying to 
patent, in order to pre-date any prior art... then to add the necessary 
details later.  Nice if you have the necessary money (and lack of scruples).
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