Scary Smartphone Motion Control Patent Granted

An anonymous reader writes "On March 16th, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a very broad patent on motion control in computing devices, one that seems to cover any smartphone that uses a built-in accelerometer. It was filed in July 2006 and preceded by a nearly identical patent granted in 2004 after a 2001 application. So it predates many of today's popular smartphones — the iPhone, the DROID, the Nexus One, etc. What will happen if the company that owns the patent asserts it?"

Re:To hack a patent...

[SimonTheSoundMan]

An accelerometer only measure acceleration, a change in direction is a big acceleration. A big change in direction can cause the signal to clip, when this happens you get random data. You have to apply a transfer function; a lower limit threshold that is above the noise floor, and limit small movements, and a high threshold to prevent any clipping.

Re:To hack a patent...

[Lunix Nutcase]

Because algorithms just get plucked out of thin air, right?

I wonder what the MEMS Manufacturers will do...

[KJSwartz]

Got to wonder how aggressively the people like Analog Devices, Honeywell, Motorola (Freescale) will do to invalidate this patent, since they own the manufacturing process. I sincerely hope they look not just to invalidate this patent, but all other patents "owned" by these applicants as payback. What the [Obscene Gerund] were the Patent Office reviewers thinking?

Motion

[BoRegardless]

"What will happen if the company that owns the patent asserts it?"

Easy answer. Negotiations will start.

Patent lawyers will sit down and debate the issues.

They will either agree and buy or license the patent or litigate and then win or pay a license fee.

Happens all the time.

Re:To hack a patent...

[Anonymous Coward]

Patenting.

Copyright stops you from copying his algorithm (specifically his code). Patents stops you from independently developing the same solution yourself.

Popular smartphones?

[Hurricane78]

the iPhone, the DROID, the Nexus One

You said popular! Try Nokia and Samsung. ^^

Re:To hack a patent...

[Mindcontrolled]

Well, yeah - but that is more a problem of the US litigation system than of the patent system. Where I come from (Europe), the costs of lawsuits is not nearly as high as in the US. Combine that with a loser-pays system and the possibility to get lawsuit cost assistance from the government if you are a broke individual inventor, and the small guy actually stands a chance. Oh, and lawyer costs are somewhat limited, too, so no $750 bill just for that quick lunch meeting where nothing actually happened.