microsoft patent with idea's from this list

Sam Kuper sam.kuper at uclmail.net
Fri Feb 6 14:55:56 CET 2009


2009/2/5 Al Johnson <openmoko at mazikeen.demon.co.uk>:
> On Thursday 05 February 2009, Helge Hafting wrote:
>> arne anka wrote:
>> >> (http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/description?CC=WO&NR=2009012
>> >>344A2&KC=A2&FT=D&date=20090122&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_US)
>> >
>> > i didn't read it fully, but how does that differ from a simple hub or the
>> > common docking station well known to notebook users? and it what respect
>> > exactly is it not obvious?
>>
>> Yeah, it is jsut like the docking stations used for laptops.
>> Doing exactly the same with a *phone*, now that phones almost are
>> notebooks - wasn't obvious to microsoft or that patent office, it seems.
>
> The patent office sees obviousness differently to engineers. Having a patent
> for something on a tractor for a particular reason doesn't stop someone
> getting a patent on the exact same thing for the same reason on a fork lift.
> Somehow it isn't obvious that if it works in one situation it'll also work in
> a similar one. They see moving the idea from one type of vehicle to another as
> an inventive step rather than an application of the blindingly obvious.

Hm, but aren't there already host mode phones which can dock into
cradles like this? Didn't at least one of the HTC phones have this
sort of capability?




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