Makerbot patents open-source content

It was bound to happen eventually...

[www.openbeamusa.com]

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- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

So has anyone informed the USPTO of the previous art?

The Problem

While many core patents restricting 3D printing have expired or will soon expire, there is a risk that "creative" patent drafting will continue to lock up ideas beyond the 20-year terms of those initial patents or that patents will restrict further advances made by the open hardware community. The incremental nature of innovation in 3D printing makes it particularly unsuitable for patenting, as history has shown.

[www.eff.org]

Do we have a designated part of the forum for these kinda issues.?

But at the same time this area will get the most eyes. If we do start a new section on the forums can we keep it close to general so it is easy to see new posts.

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[mike-mack.blogspot.com]

I like the idea of a forum dedicated to patents!

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A2
I like the idea of a forum dedicated to patents!

Someone probably patented that idea already two years ago

they even patented the hole lol what next the wheel

"3. The method of claim 1 wherein the assembly features include holes."

[www.freepatentsonline.com]

I made this.
[imgur.com]

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A2
I made this.
[imgur.com]

... excellent! -- now spread the word (picture)

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

To be clear, I didn't make that image, it's the title for the image

Read this list

They try to patent community-developed features. There are 70 patent files!!!

Auto-Bed-Leveling, Dual-Extrusion, Color switching, Networked Printing.... and many more

I would create some prior art documents, but I do not know how to do that and furthermore I am afraid that my english is not good enough.

But I would support any kind of action against criminal makerbot activities.


P.S.: #takerbot on twitter for your tweets

P.P.S.: Sorry for bad english

I love the Darth Vader analogy [3dprintingindustry.com] . Greed.... Its a terrible thing. I guess when you manufacture a product and the competition offers a equal if not superior product for half the price you tend to panic. Pathetic fairy

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2014 11:20AM by Bill Clark.

For a more measured take on the latest anti-Makerbot hysteria, check out this article by Cory Doctorow. I really hope that the newcomers realize that bashing Makerbot is a time-honored tradition around here. Every episode fits the same pattern so well that it is almost amusing to watch:

1. Makerbot does something offensive to the open source crowd that is perfectly reasonable by normal busisness standards.
2. People post angry messages and urge designers to pull their work from Thingiverse.
3. The hysteria dies down after a few days.
4. All the while Thingiverse keeps adding users and people keep buying Makerbots.

I'm not posting this in an attempt to defend Makerbot. Instead I want to point out how silly and distracting it is for the community to erupt into these predictable little fits of outrage every time Makerbot twitches.

^ I like the article. Just throwing out some probably vain hope- preliminary patents can be used as prior art, so if, under whatever universe, Makerbot is simply making open things permanently open [which I'm sure they would have announced, if they were that nice] then we should all be happy.
But, it's probably just what the article said, that they're patenting a specific extruder containing those elements. I haven't read the patents, but are people taking things like the quick release extruder from entire patents, or as part of one? If part, then what's to worry if you don't copy Makerbot?

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Realizer- One who realizes dreams by making them a reality either by possibility or by completion. Also creating or renewing hopes of dreams.
"keep in mind, even the best printer can not print with the best filament if the user is the problem." -Ohmarinus

Hi, @ [shapedo.com] We’ve built a tool to make it really easy to backup/import Thingiverse designs. You can take a look at it in action here: [youtu.be]

We’ve packed the source code & released to github so any open-friendly marketplace can implement it. [github.com] The code makes no use of Thingiverse API.

We’ve seen a real rise in the demand to detach the community from TakerBot. We really want to make it easy for non committed users to migrate, and we think there is a real chance to create a snowball effect that will make a real change.

Let’s all get together and collaborate, use all our social & press power to spread the word and help this happen - to users, to design sites, to the media.

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MattMoses
I'm not posting this in an attempt to defend Makerbot. Instead I want to point out how silly and distracting it is for the community to erupt into these predictable little fits of outrage every time Makerbot twitches.

I agree the knee-jerk reactionism is a little sad, but if the USPTO actually grants these patents, they'll effectively be declaring war on Open Source...

The thing is, I can't find a single reason why the USPTO wouldn't want to declare war on Open Source. The movement doesn't generate any brib-err-processing fee revenue for the patent office, and frankly in the current scandal culture of the US government's administrative departments, the USPTO declaring open season on individual inventors would barely raise eyebrows anymore.