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View Full Version : NVIDIA, Patent Watch...

Dave Baumann
13-Mar-2002, 17:03
nVIDIA have had a couple of Patents sneek through:

- System, method and computer program product for a blending operation in a transform module of a computer graphics pipeline (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=ft00&s1=nvidia&OS =nvidia&RS=nvidia)
- Interactive gaming server and online community forum (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/search-bool.html&r=2&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=ft00&s1=nvidia&OS =nvidia&RS=nvidia)


The second patent seems slightly out of nVIDIA's normal sphere of operations!
Dave Baumann
14-Mar-2002, 01:29
Odd. That second patent is pretty much a 'gamespy' service, and it seems that Gamespy was in operation prior to the patent being filed.
Anonymous
14-Mar-2002, 05:22
Interactive gaming server and online community forum

Uhhhhhh huuuuuuuuh.
Magnum PI
14-Mar-2002, 10:19
another patent horror story :( :(

Petition for a Software Patent Free Europe (http://petition.eurolinux.org/index_html?LANG=en)
Joe DeFuria
14-Mar-2002, 14:32
Geeze...

The regulars here should know that I "favor" the existence of patents more than most people, but even to me, that second patent is just horrifying! ;)
15-Mar-2002, 00:46
The first one they shouldn't get

The second one have they completely lost it?!

I never thought in terms of a company being evil or anything I even like Microsoft. But that patent is really ......no words come to mind they have to be made up... please let me wake up and let it all be a nightmare....

:evil: NVIDIA IS EVIL :evil:

Oh if you use a tweaker to tweak our drivers don't forget we have a patent on that so if you do you have to pay us. To enable all features and get all the speed out of it which we should have enabled in the first place
Simon F
15-Mar-2002, 08:27
Geeze...

The regulars here should know that I "favor" the existence of patents more than most people, but even to me, that second patent is just horrifying! ;)
Joe, IANAPL (obviously), but irrespective of whether that patent is valid or not, AFAIU, all you have to do not to infringe a patent is to not do something in the claims.

For example, the 1st claim states something like "...display name and name of arch-nemisis..". AFAIU, to avoid infringement, don't display, say, the arch-enemy's name.

Personally, I think all US patents should be forced to be sent through the EPO :)