Mark B JonesI want the world to build Mercator Origins, and more specifically young people, to have them get interested in pursuing engineering and STEM subjects as a career.
Patents don't interest me (edit: but see my latest comments below). The first patent was granted - or the equivalent at the time - in the 16th Century. The concept of patents is not fit for purpose for the 21st Century, open source is the way forward and there are plenty of ways to monetise off the back of it if I really want to in the future - eg providing an optional cloud SaaS service on top. See my structured cable supplier's website to see how to smash out of the park monetising open source UAVs and ROVs: www.bluerobotics.com
I would need to patent in every juristiction separately: UK, EU, USA, Australia, the list goess on. And then there is nothing stopped someone or some company in any country copying all the ideas.
To block someone abusing a patent in the UK I would need to issue a high court injunction, requiring the services of very expensive barristers. It will then take a very long time, and be very difficult to prove a breach of patent. A patent takes 4 years in UK to grant anyway, and I would need to keep everything secret until I applied for the patent - and of course it does not tip a hat at iterative development. I would have to outline all my ideas and concepts in that one waterfally application.
Nope - not interested. This is first and foremost a hobby project that I am doiing for me, whilst also giving back to the software development and maker community and the scuba community. I have taken advantage of open source and public domain applications and code since I was a teenager and NEVER given back.
This is my way to give back, whilst also raising my profile. I have hidden behind my keyboard all my life and due to the recent help of some very special professionals I now have the confidence to make a public impact in the world. That is worth it more than cash to me.
Carry on soldering and Expand your World with my invention Mecator Origins, but please know that I'm not interested in market size, etc. My priority at least for 2023 is to make a positive impact on as many people's lives as possible, including especially those who are at the margins of society.
Thanks! This is what the Scuba Hacker stands for.
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Whilst I wrote 'patents don't interest me', I am very interested in not infringing upon existing patents of course!
What I forgot to mention is that an idea/concept/invention cannot be patented if there is 'prior art', that is if it can be found there has been any public/documented discourse related to these ideas. That's good, because it means any designs and ideas that I put forth in this blog cannot be patented by someone or some entity in the future, meaning they can't then block me from using them.
This is the recent case that has helped solidify my position on these matters - Apple vs Patrick Racz regarding iphone patents:
https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/patrick-racz-and-smartflash-launch-civil-rico-investigation-into-apple-301804466.html
And here's the latest antics from Apple regarding oximeters:
https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/02/apple-vs-masimo-mistrial/
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"any designs and ideas that I put forth in this blog cannot be patented by someone or some entity in the future"
This. Yes.
Actually writing & publishing stuff takes some motivation. I don't know if any of my stuff is actually in fact novel but there are little bits here & there that I haven't seen anywhere else and this notion has contributed some of the motivation needed to get the writing done.
To be pedantic, the effect is probably more like "patent can be invalidated" than "cannot be patented" considering patent examiners probably don't follow HaD. But your point is clear enough.
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Cheers Paul. I could have worded it better finishing that sentence off as 'meaning others can't then block me or anyone else from using them (these ideas/concepts)'
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Thanks for your clear comment on patents!
"Patents don't interest me" I agree with that statement, but would like to add that it is of interest whenever Open Source technology such as FDM 3D printers or laser cutters make use of the ideas developed by the community but don't give anything back or start erecting barriers by claiming patents on top of those machinery. You should be interested in patents to such a degree that you don't throw any money at these parasitic companies. Fighting that kind of wrongdoing by words is nerve wrecking and time consuming ( https://hackaday.com/2022/07/18/ortur-laser-will-go-open-source/ ) but companies definitely listen to "not buying such machines" statements.
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Hi Norbert, thanks for your comment. I've only just started getting involved with 3D Printing as I am going to have the button mounts printable so I wasn't aware of the significant issues you're pointing out - thank you for taking the time to mention this.
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Hear, hear!
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Cheers Paul!
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