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24 Claims of Lodsys '565 Patent Rejected

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Re: 24 Claims of Lodsys '565 Patent Rejected

#5

Post by 6ren »

TruthElixirX wrote: post #3

Can someone explain dependent and independent claims to me?

A "dependent claim" is one that is based on another claim (it is dependent on it). For example:

> 2. The unit of claim 1, wherein the input reflects a request to schedule maintenance.

An "independent claim" is one that doesn't. E.g.

> 1. A unit, comprising: a memory; a transmitter; and a processor, coupled to the memory and to the transmitter, [...] an input received from the user interface

It's a forest, the roots are independent claims (no parent), all the rest are dependent (have a parent). Um... I don't know if it's allowed for a claim to depend on more than one claim (i.e. have more than one parent; multiple inheritance), but I've never seen one. Cycles are right out.

(example are from the patent in question: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sec...)

Re: 24 Claims of Lodsys '565 Patent Rejected

#6

Post by dpcan »

How interesting.

Google was bashed for taking so long to respond, and for not backing their developers on the cases, etc. It turns out, they were taking their time preparing to fight the patents and invalidate them, and in the end, it may be their attack on the patents themselves that saves the day for developers on all platforms.

Re: 24 Claims of Lodsys '565 Patent Rejected

#8

Post by monochromatic »

6ren wrote: post #5
TruthElixirX wrote: post #3

Can someone explain dependent and independent claims to me?

A "dependent claim" is one that is based on another claim (it is dependent on it). For example: > 2. The unit of claim 1, wherein the input reflects a request to schedule maintenance. An "independent claim" is one that doesn't. E.g. > 1. A unit, comprising: a memory; a transmitter; and a processor, coupled to the memory and to the transmitter, [...] an input received from the user interface It's a forest, the roots a…

> I don't know if it's allowed for a claim to depend on more than one claim (i.e. have more than one parent; multiple inheritance)

Sort of, but probably not in the way you're thinking. You can write multiple dependent claims (although they are generally disfavored in the U.S. and cost extra in fees). But say you have something like this:

What is claimed is:

1. A chair comprising a seat and a plurality of legs.

2. The chair of claim 1, wherein said plurality of legs comprises four legs.

3. The chair of any preceding claim, wherein said seat is made of plastic.

So claim 3 is a multiple dependent claim, but the way it would be interpreted is basically as having the scope as if it were written as two separate claims: one depending from claim 1 (thus covering any chair with a plastic seat and some legs), and one depending from claim 2 (thus covering any chair with a plastic seat and four legs). So it's just a concise way of writing something that would logically expand into more than one claim, which isn't really the same thing as multiple inheritance in programming.

Re: 24 Claims of Lodsys '565 Patent Rejected

#9

Post by binarymax »

There is an interesting question in the comments...one of the patent claims specifies incrementing a counter - so is decrementing the counter instead a valid workaround?

EDIT: thinking more about this, what if you pushed/popped them with a stack, or FIFO'd them with a queue. Seems there are various ways around the increment semantics.

Re: 24 Claims of Lodsys '565 Patent Rejected

#10

Post by tzs »

TruthElixirX wrote: post #3

Can someone explain dependent and independent claims to me?

An independent claim stands alone. For example, if you had invented the bicycle, an independent claim might look something like this:

   1. A device for transportation consisting of two
   wheels joined by a frame on which one or more
   passengers sit.
A dependent claim depends on an another claim. Here's an example that depends on the above independent claim:

   2. The device of claim 1 where one of the wheels is in
   the front of the vehicle and one of the wheels is in the
   back of the vehicle.
Note how it starts with claim 1, and then further refines it.

Here's an example of a dependent claim depending on another dependent claim:

   3. The device of claim 2 where the front wheel is mounted
   in a turnable fork for steering the vehicle.
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