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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Learn the stars, by phone
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2009 May 23, 09:15 -0700
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2009 May 23, 09:15 -0700
The patent in the 7 million range is for some other device or system, but patent 6,366,212 does appear to be the basis for the SkyScout: http://www.google.com/patents?id=VXwLAAAAEBAJ It has magnetic sensors, gravity/acceleration sensors, location/time input, a database of objects, and identify and find modes of operation. Beyond that, as expected for a patent, the details are rather vague. But here's a question: suppose company A, e.g. Apple, builds a device, presumably a smart mobile phone, that has the hardware features. This same company A includes software with its device which identifies buildings and landscape features (nothing astronomical and clearly outside the scope of the patent above). Can company B, e.g. me, write software which contains the database of astronomical objects and the identify/find features without infringing on the above patent? Presumably the patent lawyers for this invention maintain active searches for infringement and they're probably reading this right now :-) (am I kidding or not??). I'm inclined to think that it would not infringe, since their patent covers a purpose-built astronomical device, but, to use an old Internet/Usenet acronym, IANAL. -FER PS: for the acronym: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IANAL --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc To post, email NavList@fer3.com To , email NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---