Re: Piecepack Pyramids

[Ron Hale-Evans <rwhe@...>]

On Sun, Jun 02, 2002 at 05:29:05AM -0500, Joshua Kronengold wrote:
> Ron Hale-Evans writes:
> >2. The Patent Office hands patents out like candy, not, as Andy would
> >have it, "merit badges".  (If you doubt this, consider the infamous
> >Amazon.com "one-click" patent.)  I sincerely doubt whether Andy's
> >patent would hold up in court.
> 
> Quite.  More/as importantly, you can't really patent (well, you can,
> but it won't stand up in court) a product, only an invention/object --
> if someone is selling laser pointers, and you come up with the idea of
> a Laser Pointer for your Cat (It's like a Laser Pointer, but attracts
> fuzzy things), you can't stop them from mentioning that their product
> can be used with cats -- you didn't come up with the Laser Pointer,
> just a new use for it...and Andy didn't invent the Fishing Weight,
> just Icehouse.  :)

I'm with you here.

> Noe that this is all one item -- in order to conflict, a game would
> have to be packaged with the actual -game- Icetowers, not just have
> stackable hollow pyramids.  I don't remember whether patent 4,936,585 
> had the specific pieces as an item, or just the game.

This is interesting.  I don't know enough patent law to be able to
agree or disagree with you here, but if you're correct, Andy's
statement that it's "debatable" whether piecepack pyramids infringe on
his "IceTowers patent" should be amended; if you're right, I could
make an exact copy of an Icehouse set and sell it, and I still
wouldn't be infringing on the patent.

> Basically, we don't produce icehouse sets (without the game rules) for
> sale not because we'd be sued, but because it would be:
> 
> 1. Difficult and expensive; note the trouble the Looneys have gone
>    through to bring this to market, finally, after 10 years.

Well, maybe.  No one is currently selling piecepack pyramids, but if
they were, the pyramids would probably be on die-cut cardstock.  Much
less expensive.

> 2. Uncool; they came up with the game; they did the work; they deserve
>    the moolah.   

Two issues here.  First, you agreed that Andy's patent wouldn't stand
up in court.  You presumably think that Icehouse pyramids aren't
original, because you wrote above, "Andy didn't invent the Fishing
Weight, just Icehouse."  I assume you're talking about Icehouse the
game, not Icehouse the game system.  So why do you say that "they came
up with the game; they did the work; they deserve the moolah"?

Second is the basic question of whether someone "deserves moolah"
because they invented an idea.  I don't believe in the concept of
intellectual "property".  This topic probably doesn't belong on either
the Icehouse or piecepack list, but I'd be willing to discuss it with
you in private email.

BTW, I think it is very "uncool" of Andy to claim a patent on
stackable coloured pyramids, when there is a plethora of prior art.

Ron H-E

-- 
         Ron Hale-Evans ... rwhe@... & rwhe@...
           Center for Ludic Synergy, Seattle Cosmic Game Night, 
Kennexions Glass Bead Game &  Positive Revolution FAQ: http://www.ludism.org/
Home page & Hexagram-8 I Ching Mailing List: http://www.apocalypse.org/~rwhe/