I'm researching the question "who owns your PC?" and would like a list
of all the patents (or at least a fairly comprehensive list) a
hypothetical manufacturing company
would have to license to build a stock standard PC, including key patents
relating to displays, modems, graphics cards, mother boards, etc. The
list ought to include current patents and licensors only, including
numbers and company names. |
Request for Question Clarification by
darrel-ga
on
10 Feb 2004 08:08 PST
Emberton--
A couple points of clarification, if you don't mind:
- Are you looking for patents on the computer unit only or are you
also looking for patents on keyboards, mice, monitors, etc.?
- When you say you would like a list of the patents a hypothetical
manufacturing company would have to license, are you looking
specifically for the patents a company HAS ALREADY used to license
such a computer, or are you looking for a set of ORIGINAL patents that
have not been used for such a purpose to date?
- Are you looking for the current patent numbers and company names
only, or would you also expect links to where you can find that
information online?
Thanks,
darrel-ga
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Request for Question Clarification by
aht-ga
on
10 Feb 2004 08:32 PST
emberton-ga:
Can you also clarify this point as well? A typical PC today is
assembled from separate, manufactured components. So, for example, I
can build a PC using an Intel processor, without needing explicit
licensing from Intel to do so, simply by using one of Intel's OEM or
retail processor kits (which contain licensing for the use of that
individual processor, in an individual PC). So, are you looking at the
hypothetical situation where a hypothetical manufacturing company
would be creating a new PC out of raw materials such as silicon,
aluminum, copper, gold, etc.? Or are you more interested in any
licensing requirements that may currently exist, for an assembler to
be able to include purchased components in a new, for-resale, PC?
Thanks,
aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher
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Clarification of Question by
emberton-ga
on
10 Feb 2004 16:19 PST
Hiya,
Thanks for the questions. I think it's probably best if I just explain
what I'm trying to do... what I'd like to end up with is a diagram of
a common desktop PC, and be able to overlay a bunch of callouts and
historical tidbits relating to who invented/licensed various parts.
The idea is to convey the sheer number of inventions and divergence of
costs that goes into a modern computer. Try not to worry about the
hypothetical manufacturing company, that was just a (seemingly
terrible) way of illustrating what I was getting at.
I already have a list of expired patents like the computer mouse, word
processor (I'm doing a separate software section as well), transistor
etc... so what I'm really interested in are current hardware
patented/licensed technologies relating to PCs and basic peripherals
like the inkjet printer, network card, modem and optical mouse. I
don't really need links, just the main information like patent #
relating to the invention, and the name of the company that
manufactures or licenses it.
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Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
01 Mar 2004 08:19 PST
Hello emberton-ga,
This is an interesting question, but in all likelihood, probably
impossible to answer.
There is no single patent holder for major computer-related devices
like a printer, or a mouse. Instead, each device has evolved over
many years, and consists of thousands of patented innovations.
For instance, I ran a patent office search for patents with "keyboard"
in the title, and came up with more than 3,000 results. And those are
only the results since 1976 -- there are many earlier patents
referenced that incorporate early versions of electronic keyboard
devices.
Given that state of massive complexity (and it's small wonder that
hardware/software companies are constantly suing one another over
patent infringment), I can't see any manageable way to approach your
question.
If you can offer any additional guidance about how you would like your
question approached, we'd be glad to give it some more thought.
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