Suing Over... Fans?

NiceGeek hooked us up with an amusing story about assorted legal wackiness surrounding CPU Fans. Apparently one company is suing another because they are (gasp) stealing advanced fan technology and violating patents! Horror! The sad part is that its probably true. Someone needs to write a perl script to take this story, and s/x/y/g the names and technologies, and then feed every company and technology into it. Then create an archive of every possible violation lawsuit. Then patent the idea, and sue anyone who violates it. Just cut me in for thinking of it ;)

Comments

rsg

[startled]

Someone needs to write a perl script to take this story, and s/x/y/g the names and technologies, and then feed every company and technology into it.

I know it's been mentioned before, but there's something better-- it covers far more than just patent lawsuits. That's right, folks, the slashdot story generator.

Re:Why the hostility Cmdr Taco?

[Fervent]

From personal experience, don't bother trying to respond to him about this stuff directly. He never reads it and doesn't care. Chris

Lets not go overboard...

[smoondog]

I know that there are some wierd patent lawsuits on /., but where do we draw the line between good business and unfair maliciousness? I don't think anyone agrees that patents should be completely abolished, so somethings are patentable. Although it seems a little late for pushing for patent violation on the fan issue, we should definately try to keep in mind that some patents are real and should be respected.

-Moondog

Why the hostility Cmdr Taco?

[Carnage4Life]

I think it's rather insulting for Taco to assume that there are no innovations going on in the world of PC components and simply lump these patents with the other crap we've seen on Slashdot (i.e. Altavista search engine patent, Amazon 1-click, etc). That said, I suggest reading the patents and deciding if they are frivolous or obvious to you (after all you make hardware right?).

1. US5967763: Positioning devices for a sensor element of a miniature fan
   
   
2. US6109892: Positioning device for a sensor element of a miniature fan
   
   
3. US6114785: Positioning device for a sensor element of a miniature fan
   
   

Now it looks like they patented various iterations of a sensor element attached to a fan. To me it seems frivolous on the surface, but since I'm not into PC components I'm not a 100% sure since evrything seems obvious in hind sight.

What if they DESERVE the patent???

[swordgeek]

Has ANYONE (ok, I know at least one person has) considered the possiblity that Sunonwealth has actually patented new and significant technology, and that's what they're trying to protect? Is it just SLIGHTLY possible that ADDA, who has a really big black mark in the patent law courts already, might have infringed a valid and worthwhile patent again?

Come on people, at least find out what the patent is about before damning a company to the lowest depths of hell for defending it.

Re:I patent... the stone hammer!

[Dusabre]

What about constant operation high rotation speed motor coupled to heat resistant framework and resilient blade? What about a mechanism that is constantly working to keep your processor working, hardly ever breaks and doesn't shatter into millions of pieces despite spinning round and round for years exposed to temperature extremes. This is your typical piece of high quality engineering that you may believe anybody can make because its concept is so simple, but its the implementation that requires a professional and patentable approach. Engineers and designers deserve some respect, patents are the legalised form of that respect. I don't see any patented software or idea or obvious prior art silliness in this story, it really shouldn't be on slashdot, unless normal patent law suits are slashdot worthy.