How long do patents last?

[John C. Ratliff]

They are different things, but their purpose is the same and the argument is for all intents and purposes the same. NOBODY lose ANYTHING if you copy either patented nor copyrighted items unless its either resold or the person doing it would have bought it in the first place.


Actually, Apple and certain judges in Europe seem to disagree very much with you on that. The fact that the Galaxy tab is "square with rounded corners, a visible frame and a flat and centered screen which shows colored icons when switched on" has allowed Apple to stop all sales of the Galaxy Tab in Germany for one..
I cant say I don't find it moronic..

Lost a sale, right?

SeaRat

 

[Tigerman]

Theres no lost sale if I copy an item I wouldnt have bought to begin with. If I copy item x its not automatically the same as I would have bought it in the first place..
And the post you quoted has been edited with a couple of clarifications btw..

 

[Akimbo]

Just wondering about an old US divers back pack design probably from 1964 ish?...

FYI: The KAM E-Z PAK first appeared in the 1963 US Divers Catalog. No mention of a patent in the catalog sheet. If there is no notice on the product of a Patent number or Patent Pending, then there never was a patent to be concerned about.




There is another pack on the same page that might interest you. A stamped steel pack with a lot of similarities to “Modern” back plates.

 

[duckbill]

I would suspect that you could copy the original...leave the name off of it and make the slightest change in it some whrere and it would not be the item that was considered patented. It seams that the patent is pretty presise. make aluminum what was once steel and it is not the same thing. Just an opinion. And from something decades old for personal use. Cant be a problem.

Most items fall under several patents, usually protecting features and/or function, often with no reference to material at all. Simply changing a material does not necessarily put one in the clear. It depends on what is specifically named and protected under the patents.

Anyway, I would think ZKY is safe if but for the time element alone.

 

[Fish&beer]

Well I just wanted to say that I'm the one that had the fortune to have my Kam EZ pak break on me. ZKY, duckbill, & I were making a vintage dive in NorCal when my favorite backpack broke. It was my favorite pack as it was comfortable as hell! I know the KAM EZ's were made of cheap breakable plastic but until that fate full day, I took care of it and it served me well. In fact the USD KAM EZ was the very first pack I dove w/ when I bought my first dive gear back ages ago. It was for sure my favorite rig to dive.

See below-



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Well lucky for me ZKY said he wanted to make a mold off my busted one & make a new one out of fiberglass so I gave it to him. Well about a month later he gave me the new improved model. It was a thing of beauty. From the front it looked identical-



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And the back side-


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Well I am happy with the new improved model. It fits so sweet as the original, comfortable as hell, and best of all it is tough as an M-1 tank. Like I said before it is my fortune my old one broke.

Many thanks to Eric (ZKY)

Jerry

 

[Thalassamania]

or I am sure you can download it for free somewhere...

Yup, I just found it. Where? That's your problem.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Theres no lost sale if I copy an item I wouldnt have bought to begin with. If I copy item x its not automatically the same as I would have bought it in the first place..
And the post you quoted has been edited with a couple of clarifications btw..

If it has no value, why did you copy it? For someone who's a defender, you seem rather defensive about this matter.

SeaRat

 

[NAM001]

I will agree with you again. My comment (general) since it applies to material and not music ect and specifically as a back harness like this is, was made by many manufactures. each was basically the same with only small differences in them. No conflict between the makers. Much different than books or music the copied music is exact only on different media.

Most items fall under several patents, usually protecting features and/or function, often with no reference to material at all. Simply changing a material does not necessarily put one in the clear. It depends on what is specifically named and protected under the patents.


Anyway, I would think ZKY is safe if but for the time element alone.

 

[NAM001]

All this chat makes me want to go out and get one now. I always liked that back pack and the double hose really tops it off.

Well I just wanted to say that I'm the one that had the fortune to have my Kam EZ pak break on me. ZKY, duckbill, & I were making a vintage dive in NorCal when my favorite backpack broke. It was my favorite pack as it was comfortable as hell! I know the KAM EZ's were made of cheap breakable plastic but until that fate full day, I took care of it and it served me well. In fact the USD KAM EZ was the very first pack I dove w/ when I bought my first dive gear back ages ago. It was for sure my favorite rig to dive.

See below-


Well I am happy with the new improved model. It fits so sweet as the original, comfortable as hell, and best of all it is tough as an M-1 tank. Like I said before it is my fortune my old one broke.

Many thanks to Eric (ZKY)

Jerry

 

[Tigerman]

If it has no value, why did you copy it? For someone who's a defender, you seem rather defensive about this matter.

SeaRat

If someones not a potential customer, but copy the product it could have various different reasons for it, like lack of availability in the specific area, lack of funds, they never heard of an artist and want a sample or whatever.
There is actually some research indicating that the ones who copy most also spend most on the same type of products, although Im not sure how much faith is to be put in that, but I suspect some of the reason for that indication is that the ones downloading also have more interest in it to begin with.

Where I live its pretty much a 2 hour drive to the closest record store and the same to the nearest half-decent movie-theatre.
For me personally that is no problem as I have a car, a drivers license and the money to spend. For a teenager living off his allowance with limited means of transport and horribly bad (and stupid expensive) public transportation that pose a challenge..
More and more stuff is becoming available online (i.e. itunes), which is about time but theres still a lot of room for improvement on that front.
Im not defending piracy, but Im not supporting the "one download is worth suing mrs unemployed 3-child mother for $10000 worth of sales" policy either. Fine, bust the pirates but atleast come up with realistic numbers instead of dreaming things up

Think we've taken this very off-topic thing far enough really, I wont continue this line of the discussion and let the thread back on track..