New MakerBot owner, Stratasys, sues Afinia

Based on the article wouldn't the term of the patents be close to, or have already expired?

Stratasys has had these patents since the late 1990s, but until it purchased Makerbot had taken no steps to try and enter the desktop market. Assuming their patents cover printers like the Afinia, they could have rolled out a low cost desktop model a decade ago. But, for whatever combination of reasons, they declined to do so.

Source: http://makezine.com/2013/11/27/stratasys-sues-afinia-ramifications-for-the-desktop-3d-printing-industry/

Looking at the wikipedia article for 'term of patent in the USA' it says:

In the United States, under current patent law, the term of patent, provided that maintenance fees are paid on time, are:

• For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995,^[1] the patent term is 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S. application to which priority is claimed (excluding provisional applications).^[2]
• For applications filed before June 8, 1995 and for patents that were still in force on June 8, 1995, the patent term is either 17 years from the issue date or 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S. or international (PCT) application to which priority is claimed (excluding provisional applications), the longer term applying.^[3][4]

Source: Term of patent in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have no idea what these companies are like, but going by the business practices of other technologies companies this all seems like standard practice. Based on the vague description of the infringed patents it seems that there would be an easy work around for the components mentioned, if there is even a case that follows through, or in the worst case scenario there may be a few years delay within the industry whilst waiting for the patents to expire, and Stratasys seek market dominance - outside of China.

Stuart Clarke wrote:

 

Based on the vague description of the infringed patents it seems that there would be an easy work around for the components mentioned

Unfortunately, accuracy or vagueness have never troubled lawyers, a profession trained in undermining of logic and bypassing of justice through verbal machination.  Fortunately they don't all use their skill in this way (some are very highly ethical), but those without any sense of ethics make a habit of screwing people just because they can (and of course for a fee).

Alas the ongoing patent and copyright wars demonstrate horribly that there is no shortage of bad eggs, both the legal hitmen and the CEOs who employ litigation as a business plan.  It creates a horrible chilling effect, and as 3D printing gets sexier and more capable with each passing year, the attacks on it will get worse and worse.

I'd love to be optimistic in this area, but while I'm wildly optimistic about the technology, I've been around long enough to know that bad people will attempt to bring it down.  Also, note that, as often said, 3D printing puts the means of production into the hands of the people.  This is utter anathema to business in the manufacturing sector, so you can expect those who equate progress with profit to be lined up in unanimous hatred when it becomes more than just a technical toy.  (The toy industry hates even this.)  And those vested interests will dictate to government what laws to pass.

So there are problem times ahead for 3D printing.  I don't plan to give up too easily.

Morgaine.

Stuart Clarke wrote:

 

I doubt that governments or industry will let anything hamper their progress

If by "their progress" you meant "the progress of 3D printing technologies" (mentioned in your preceding sentences), then I agree, and it is my hope too.

Unfortunately, in the real world "their" almost without exception means governments and industry, and refers to their progress.  Our progress is irrelevant to them, indeed it hampers them and must be eradicated --- our role is to work hard and pass our money up the pyramid that accumulates Mankind's resources.

3D printing appeared out of nowhere and bucks the master plan.  As you say, exciting times.

Morgaine.

Stuart Clarke wrote:

 

Given the rapid progress in 3D printing technology and the uptake in interest that 3D printing has seen over the past year or so, I remain optimistic that there is a very bright future for 3D printing and I have no doubt that it is a paradigm shifting technology. There is huge interest in this technology and I doubt that governments or industry will let anything hamper their progress, as too much has already been vested and the technology offers huge benefits.

Yes, a very bright future, but not in the USA.  Another exciting technology from 1903 was tied up in a patent war between the Wright Brothers and Glenn Curtiss.  This was good news for the French aircraft maker SPAD, who sold fighter planes to the USA during WWI because you couldn't get them from the patent warriors.

California benefited from Thomas Edison's patent aggression over motion picture patents.  I've read that the movie industry moved to Hollywood and other locations in California (such as Niles, now part of Fremont) to be as far away from Edison as possible.  Unfortunately, you can't play that game any more in the USA, where "all roads lead to Marshall, Texas".

JMO/YMMV

John Beetem wrote:

 

Yes, a very bright future, but not in the USA.

Perhaps it's time for a second Boston Tea Party.  You all did the right thing in 1773 to reject a foreign power imposing taxes back then (worth noting that I'm a Brit, but I know that you were right).  The foreign power that is shackling you now is hiding in your midst, and you cannot vote it out.  But you can throw out its tea.

Morgaine.

Ultimately I mean our progress, as sooner or later the masses will benefit from most scientific and technological breakthroughs / advancements, but in the context of my original comment I meant whomever has invested money in the R&D of 3D printing. Of course, we can't forget all of the unfair developments that have occurred in science and technology throughout human history, but we live in the digital age where not only information is freely available, but more people than ever are interested in, capable of, or actively involved in electronics to some degree or another. So in terms of 3D printing, I think we shall get everything we want and more, but I can't say as much for other areas of life such as politics and war, but we're heading in the right direction when compared to our long term past

Hopefully my opinion is right as there will already be long term issues related to intellectual property, what with being able to potentially print your own downloaded commercial goods et al. If 3D printing took off to the point where most people had a decent resolution 3D printer, the way we buy products could change dramatically.

Stuart Clarke wrote:

 

but we're heading in the right direction when compared to our long term past

USA has no long term past.   Its people gave birth to their nation only very recently in a glorious manifestation of local sovereignty, ethics of fairness, and intellectual insight, quite unique in the history of the world.  Regrettably, much of it has since been undone from within.

In contrast, Britain has millennia of long-term past, and most of it is definitely not glorious.  Trust me, you don't want your own Dark Ages.  Unfortunately, that's where things are currently heading.  The only difference in this new feudalism is that your lords have learned not to raise their own heads above the parapet.  That's what figureheads are for.

The people still have their pitchforks though.  They are powered by Git and NEMA23 stepper motors.

Morgaine.

I was trying to be optimistic! When you consider that there are a lot of good people out there (think element14 and not youtube), I think you can find some reassurance that the human race isn't doomed to ripping each other off, and that there are people out there willing to help. Given that even if the human species survives indefinitely, it will take us all working together to continue to survive, when the sun dies we will have to move planet, but in the meantime we'll have to share limited resources and avoid dying in natural disasters, and remember what happened to the dinosaurs. Anyway, I'm all too familiar with human history, ancient through to present but compared to what I know of history I am grateful that I live now and not 70+ years ago.

PS.

I avoid the general news and stick to reading up on my interests, maybe that has clouded my judgement of humanity somewhat but it has helped me have a little more faith in society as a whole. In my early 20's I had little to no faith in humanity, but over the years people and communities have helped me realise that people aren't all bad, even some companies too

Stuart Clarke wrote:

 

I was trying to be optimistic!

...

and remember what happened to the dinosaurs.

For a little comedy, I've pulled out your two comments above as a lead-in to my somewhat unconventional recipe for optimism.  Despite it being clear that the effective powers of the world deliberately hold us back from a civilized future because it doesn't serve their vested interests, remembering what happened to the dinosaurs suggests a few solutions and so provides some hope.

The little mammals were more nimble and occupied more niches than the dinosaurs.  When the bad days arrived, they didn't have all their eggs in the same basket, they didn't use as much energy, they weren't reliant on a narrow range of foods, they were timid and knew the value of running and hiding, they lived out of sight underground, and they worked and found food in the dark.  They survived because they adapted, and because they were more clever than the rest.

It's more than just a metaphor.  Despite DARPA funding the first few machines and a few research teams, they didn't build the Internet.  It was built by millions of unfunded enthusiasts, academics and technical employees doing a zillion fun things without coordination and mostly without the approval of their institutions --- the beancounters and a lot of management simply didn't understand the technical things that were happening.  As a result, the world enjoyed 15 years of relative freedom of communications, until lawyers, big business and politicians finally caught up with events and the suppression by vested interests began.

There's a moral there.  When/if the situation gets too bad, it will be time to innovate again and create another virtual reality for ourselves, opening up another gap of respite by being more nimble than those who want to hold the world back.

The dinosaurs currently rule the world, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're set up to survive.

(There's an even closer metaphor that could be mentioned, involving the ongoing 6th mass extinction of biodiversity, but that would take a lot more explaining so I'll leave it for another day.)

So yes, I'm optimistic too, with only a few reservations.  Most problems can be fixed.

Morgaine.

That was an enjoyable read and a good analogy, and nice to see you know your stuff about the possible cause of the dinosaurs extinction and our road to superiority

I was always under the impression that the military came up with a closed network style internet, and that the internet as we know it was developed by people from unrelated institutes, such as universities and the likes of CERN contrators et al. Anyway, the lawyers have always been there protecting their clients, even before the internet they were fighting for copyright protection on software, and the music industry fighting for copyright protection on samples etc. When the internet appeared along with media files such as MP3, it was inevitable that there would be a huge kickback as copyright protection had already been granted, and the entertainment industry in particular already had a working business model and didn't seem to want to innovate in the way of doing business digitally.

As for politicians, I think history proves that they aren't to be trust and have a clear lack of respect, or concern for the average person - unless it's election times! It's also apparent from what the NSA and GCHQ are doing that they don't even trust us, and must therefore treat us all as potential criminals.

There's a moral there.  When/if the situation gets too bad, it will be time to innovate again and create another virtual reality for ourselves, opening up another gap of respite by being more nimble than those who want to hold the world back.

There is no better time than now and the foreseeable future for this to happen, the wealth of knowledge available to anyone with an internet connection is staggering, and our understanding of the world has never been better. 5 years ago I wouldn't have believed that today I would be able to do my own prototyping of electronic devices at an affordable price, that really blows my mind and makes me extremely excited for the future!

BTW I just saw this pop up on youtube The Cube 3D Printer - YouTube is it just me or is the Farnell / Element14 store one of the more expensive vendors online? Whenever I look through their international stores I can always find cheaper offers from most other outlets. The most shocking price difference I saw was for a single board computer SOB, $600 on the Element14 store compared to €35 direct from the manufacturer or other outlets; I see the same silly prices on ebay, the Pi is nowhere near the original target price.

What's a SOB - couldn't find anything relevant in first 30 hits on Google !

I don't know much about 3d printers but I was massively put off the Cube by the proprietary cartridges complete with monopoly enforcing chip and the price of the plastic is horrific.

It looks as if 3D printing will attract every wheeze ever tried on normal printers !

MK

My apologies, I meant a single board computer - not sure where the SOB came from, looks like confusion over 'system on a chip' and 'single board computer' :/

My apologies, I meant a single board computer - not sure where the SOB came from, looks like confusion over 'system on a chip' and 'single board computer' :/