Specific patent question

[patentnewb]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

Hi, this question is related to the law suit by Immersion Corp. vs Sony ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion_v._Sony ). It says that:

in 2002, Sony and Microsoft were sued by Immersion for patent infringement for the use of vibration functions in their gaming controllers.[1] Specifically, they were accused of infringing on claims in U.S. Patent 6,424,333 and U.S. Patent 6,275,213 (filed 2000 and 2001 as extensions of U.S. Patent 6,088,017 , itself filed 1998, all "Tactile feedback man-machine interface device")

Questions:

1. Why did Immersion need to file extensions in 2000 and 2001, when a patent lasts for 20 years?

2. The 1998 patent, "Tactile feedback man-machine interface device", deals with wearing small vibration modules (like the ones in cell phone) on the body to be controlled by a computer as a means of feedback. Their main purpose and market is Virtual Reality, but they don't specifically say that it's for virtual reality only. Does this mean that any computer controlled wearable vibration device is off-limits? That seems so broad. It's like saying "I invented the idea of putting an LED on a shirt as a means of indicating feedback", and now no one can make any piece of clothing with an LED in it.

3. The reason I'm asking is that I'm inventing a wearable device with small vibration motors to indicate information, but I can't disclose the invention yet. But let's say that I want to wear 3 small vibration motors on the hand to tell me the weather. Let's say that I wrote a computer program to ask google what the weather is, and if it's sunny, it'll vibrate the left one, if cloudy, vibrate the middle one, and if rainy/stormy, vibrate the right one. And it will do this whenever the weather changes. (let's say it's for a deaf/blind person). What part of this overall invention is patentable, or is it the fact that none of it is patentable and that it's infringing on immersion corp's patent?

Thank you very much!

kevin

 

[divgradcurl]

1. Why did Immersion need to file extensions in 2000 and 2001, when a patent lasts for 20 years?

These "extensions" are actually called "continuations." Basically, if you file a patent, but you forget to claim something that you disclose in the specification, or if you need to more clearly claim something, etc., it is possible, in certain circumstances, to file a "continuation" application. A continuation essentially just adds more claims to the original patent. A patent and all of its progeny (continuations, continuations-in-part, and divisionals) all expire at the same time, so it's not possible to extend the life of a patent this way.

Most likely, a patent was filed, and while the patent was going through the patent office, Immersion either realized it forgot to claim something, or realized that it could claim something that it didn't think about originally.

2. The 1998 patent, "Tactile feedback man-machine interface device", deals with wearing small vibration modules (like the ones in cell phone) on the body to be controlled by a computer as a means of feedback. Their main purpose and market is Virtual Reality, but they don't specifically say that it's for virtual reality only. Does this mean that any computer controlled wearable vibration device is off-limits? That seems so broad. It's like saying "I invented the idea of putting an LED on a shirt as a means of indicating feedback", and now no one can make any piece of clothing with an LED in it.

The scope of the patent is dependent on the claim language, not the abstract or the specification. It is quite possible for a patent to cover areas far from its original purpose, depending on how the patent is written.

3. The reason I'm asking is that I'm inventing a wearable device with small vibration motors to indicate information, but I can't disclose the invention yet. But let's say that I want to wear 3 small vibration motors on the hand to tell me the weather. Let's say that I wrote a computer program to ask google what the weather is, and if it's sunny, it'll vibrate the left one, if cloudy, vibrate the middle one, and if rainy/stormy, vibrate the right one. And it will do this whenever the weather changes. (let's say it's for a deaf/blind person). What part of this overall invention is patentable, or is it the fact that none of it is patentable and that it's infringing on immersion corp's patent?

Unfortunately, there is no way to answer this question in any useful manner without fully understanding your invention, and without fulling understanding the prior art, including the Immersion patents. Your best bet would be to find a patent agent or attorney in your area, who could review your invention and the prior art, and advise you accordingly.

 

[patentnewb]

Thank you for your answer. Can you tell me how much such a consultation would normally cost? Also, is it common place to have an NDA in place before the session?

 

[divgradcurl]

Thank you for your answer. Can you tell me how much such a consultation would normally cost? Also, is it common place to have an NDA in place before the session?

The cost will vary greatly depending on the complexity of your invention, the scope of the prior art investigation, and your geographical area. Either a registered patent agent or patent attorney can help you; usually (but not always) an agent is cheaper than an attorney, and usually a patent agent or attorney working solo or for a small firm is cheaper than one working for a larger firm.

No NDA is necessary; registered patent agents are held to the same confidentiality rules as are attorneys.