Electronic Frontier Foundation
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are posted only for purposes of discussion.)
Most of the problems with the patent system stem from the flood of low quality patents granted by the Patent Office. Once a bad patent issues, it is expensive and challenging to fight. The much better solution is for overbroad patents not to issue in the first place. And one way to help that happen is to submit prior art (the pre-existing publications and technology that could invalidate a patent by showing that the invention wasn’t new) while a patent application is still pending.
Last year, EFF partnered with the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law School to challenge six 3D printing patent applications. Now the Cyberlaw Clinic is working on a new project, this time to challenge a very broad Apple patent application covering solar-powered electronics. Here’s what the clinic wrote today:
How cool would it be to charge your phone just by leaving it in a sunny spot by the window or for your e-reader to run on power from the sun? Based on this patent application by Apple, solar power may come to iPhones one day soon — but if Apple is able to patent the idea, it may not be available for other brands until 2032.
If you’d like to discuss cyber-law, contact Chris Ingle, chairman Rose Law Group Cyber-Law Department, cingle@roselawgroup.com
