RSSDiscovery says it thought of the Kindle first, wants royalites
By Tim Conneally | Published March 17, 2009, 6:15 PM
Discovery Communications, best known for its Discovery Channel cable network and related retail stores, is also the holder of a rather comprehensive e-book patent filed nearly ten years ago. The company has taken legal action against Amazon.com for infringing upon that patent with its popular Kindle e-reading device.
The patent (#7,298,851) was granted in November 2007 to Discovery founder John S. Hendricks, and includes everything from the content delivery method (both through the Internet and through a connection to Cox cable box for video) all the way down to the operating system of the reading device (Menus include virtual shelves labeled "books in your library," and "books you can order.") Page 26 of the patent also includes a method of printing books on demand.
In the suit, Discovery says that the Kindle, Kindle 2, and Amazon.com itself are all infringing upon its patent.
Instead of seeking an injunction on the Kindle, Discovery wants to receive damages and royalties "sufficient to compensate Discovery for any future infringement of the '851 patent."
A statement from Discovery this morning said, "Legal action is not something Discovery takes lightly. Our tradition as an inventive company has produced considerable intellectual property assets for our shareholders, and today's infringement litigation is part of our effort to protect and defend those assets."
This is the worst kind of patent abuse. Imagining something that might someday be possible is not inventing. Inventing is actually building a new thing that works and does some useful thing new or better.
There are people who have been working hard for many years to develop the e-ink electronic paper that makes readers like the kindle possible. I am sure they have have had many ideas for applications for their invention, but If they spent all their time filing patents they would not have been able to invent e-ink.
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|So it took 10 years for the patent to be granted??
"Instead of seeking an injunction on the Kindle, Discovery wants to receive damages and royalties 'sufficient to compensate Discovery for any future infringement of the '851 patent."'
Bunk. They've had 10 years to build this...far as I know, they haven't built a thing.
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|hmm?
just because they have a figure drawn with an etch-a-sketch doesn't mean that thier version actually works because it's not what is on the outside that counts, but whats on the inside.
so where is the diagram of the inner circuitry (where's the beef)?
perhaps, it is another etch-a-sketch of a mouse inside an excercise wheel and wearing tiny reading glasses?
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|Greedy bas****s, everyone wants to steal money from people that actually came up with the idea AND IMPLIMENTED IT.
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|Funny how the patent was given to discovery the same month as the release of the 1st kindle, November 2007. What took them almost 1.5 years to file their lawsuit? Does Discovery even HAVE a kindle-like product in the works?
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|Meh. I came up with this idea http://www.moop.me/inap.php while travelling home on the train while drunk and tired. Slightly annoyed I didn't patent it (have been far too busy to build it) as I could've gotten some money there.
*Edit* Meant as a reply to forgie.
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|So basically they squatted on the idea knowing somebody would come up with it that they could then sue after it was successful. Love the patent system!
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