How silly is this US patent system, anyway ?

[Solarflare]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

 

[fjrabon]

Patent pending means they have applied for but not yet received a patent. There's a lot of examples of bad patent granting, this is not one of them. As long as they've filled out the paperwork and their application is yet to be denied, they can say "patent pending."

At this point they've simply asked for a patent and there is no indication they will be granted one.

 

[limr30 3]

The purpose of the patent system is to encourage creativity and innovation. If people know their inventions can be protected (at least for the life of the patent) then they are more motivated to actually invent and see a project through. And of course, it's money-driven. After all, why do people want to invent things? There are exceptions of course, but people invent mostly because they want to make money. Would you bother inventing something if you knew that once it was on the market, anyone could just copy it and sell it too? But if you knew you could have exclusive rights for 20 years (though in practice it usually ends up being only 16-17 years by the time the patent is granted), you might be more interested in searching for a new innovation that could be patented and sold.

And as fjrabon said, just because someone applies for a patent doesn't mean he or she will get it.

 

[astroNikon]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

It's not "just a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible"

it "make(s) your camera capture video like a professional. " per the writeup.


of course to us laymans ... it's a button at a 45 degree angle to the body.

 

[table1349]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

Except that the "simple piece of plastic" is mission specific, IE. it fits the A6000. While simple, it is different in that it fits that camer with the makers specific design.

Have you ever taken a photo of something that is commonly photographed such as some monument, historical building etc. By taking that photo that thousands, perhaps even millions have also photographed, should you have no copyrite for that photo you took?

 

[waday]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

Seems to be working so far...

The only thing trivial is the price tag... $24.95 is the introductory price? I hate to see how much the non-intro price will be...

 

[astroNikon]

Yeah, I've also bought 3rd party roof racks (bike, kayak, etc) for my car.
Which, ironically, hold patents in it's design.

it's just the way it is to prevent people in most (but not all) countries from making identical copies of it.

 

[fjrabon]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

Seems to be working so far...

The only thing trivial is the price tag... $24.95 is the introductory price? I hate to see how much the non-intro price will be...

I mean I have bought enough stuff from Black Rapid and Really Right Stuff that I didn't even flinch at that price, haha.

 

[waday]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

Seems to be working so far...

The only thing trivial is the price tag... $24.95 is the introductory price? I hate to see how much the non-intro price will be...

I mean I have bought enough stuff from Black Rapid and Really Right Stuff that I didn't even flinch at that price, haha.

I have GAS; unfortunately, I don't have MTS*, haha. If I had that camera, and that annoyed me, I guess I could justify the cost.

*Money to Spend.

 

[fjrabon]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

Seems to be working so far...

The only thing trivial is the price tag... $24.95 is the introductory price? I hate to see how much the non-intro price will be...

I mean I have bought enough stuff from Black Rapid and Really Right Stuff that I didn't even flinch at that price, haha.

I have GAS; unfortunately, I don't have MTS*, haha. If I had that camera, and that annoyed me, I guess I could justify the cost.

*Money to Spend.

so in looking up links for the review I just wrote on my camera bag in the other thread, it really hit me how much money I've spent on camera gear, seeing the amazon prices for what is like 1/3 of my total rig. Dear god.

 

[waday]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

Seems to be working so far...

The only thing trivial is the price tag... $24.95 is the introductory price? I hate to see how much the non-intro price will be...

I mean I have bought enough stuff from Black Rapid and Really Right Stuff that I didn't even flinch at that price, haha.

I have GAS; unfortunately, I don't have MTS*, haha. If I had that camera, and that annoyed me, I guess I could justify the cost.

*Money to Spend.

so in looking up links for the review I just wrote on my camera bag in the other thread, it really hit me how much money I've spent on camera gear, seeing the amazon prices for what is like 1/3 of my total rig. Dear god.

Don't do that, ever. Haha. My wife yells at me when I do that..

 

[fjrabon]

Cineasy Touch Video Button Enhancement Mirrorless Rumors

This Patent Pending device [...]

Its not a "device" - its a simple piece of plastic to make a button more accessible if the user wishes it so.

And how exactly is this piece of plastic any different from about a million of other such pieces of plastic from other companies done for countless cameras ?

Why is it possible to "patent" even the most trivialistic, boring, done a friggin endless times everyday solutions in this weird US patent system ?

Seems to be working so far...

The only thing trivial is the price tag... $24.95 is the introductory price? I hate to see how much the non-intro price will be...

I mean I have bought enough stuff from Black Rapid and Really Right Stuff that I didn't even flinch at that price, haha.

I have GAS; unfortunately, I don't have MTS*, haha. If I had that camera, and that annoyed me, I guess I could justify the cost.

*Money to Spend.

so in looking up links for the review I just wrote on my camera bag in the other thread, it really hit me how much money I've spent on camera gear, seeing the amazon prices for what is like 1/3 of my total rig. Dear god.

Don't do that, ever. Haha. My wife yells at me when I do that..

Lol, I do it once a year for insurance reasons. But it's so much more intense when I see the full new price, haha

 

[Derrel]

This new invention could lend another sense of meaning to the phrase "soft controls"....