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<blockquote data-quote="Steve Maksim" data-source="post: 80896" data-attributes="member: 1973">Re: X32 Discussion&nbsp;I think we&#039;re forgetting what the purpose of patents is and how the arrangement is supposed to work (not that it always works that way).&nbsp;Patents exist to encourage innovation, not to guarantee a revenue stream and an easy retirement.&nbsp; Their purpose is to encourage the dissemination of knowledge by rewarding inventors with limited-time exclusive access to sell their innovation.The alternatives are industrial secrets, hidden formulas, and the potential for a great loss to mankind as a whole.&nbsp; Loss of important scientific knowledge and technical art has happened many times, for example the formulas for medieval stained glass.&nbsp; Imagine if John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain had decided to try to keep their methods of doping a Si a secret instead of sharing them with the world?&nbsp; How long would it have taken for semiconductor physics to develop?&nbsp; Herbert Mataré and Heinrich Welker in Europe managed to make the same discovery, but they didn&#039;t go anywhere with it; so the possibility of independent discovery is no substitute for dissemination.&nbsp;Once a patent is granted, it&#039;s up to the inventor to capitalize on the invention.&nbsp; If the inventor &quot;blows it,&quot; then that&#039;s his fault.&nbsp; There can not to be any truly great reward without the possibility of failure.&nbsp; The other option available to the inventor is to not file a patent at all and thus keep their invention to themselves--and don&#039;t laugh, because it&#039;s worked for Coca-Cola.&nbsp; Still, that&#039;s risky business, as history is littered with the stories of people simultaneous discoveries.&nbsp; Famously, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell filed a patent for the telephone on the same day.Why should Dan Dugan get a corner on the market of automatic mixing?&nbsp; Sure, he put the first product on the street--good for him!&nbsp; He&#039;s had his chance.&nbsp; And as he makes new contributions to the field and files a patent he gets a chance again:&nbsp; a window of time to exclusively bring to market those improvements.&nbsp; That&#039;s his reward.&nbsp;Why should Yamaha get a corner on the market of automatic mixing for digital consoles?&nbsp; If they had wanted to get established in it, they could have done it years ago.&nbsp; If Dugan&#039;s MY card had been around in 2005 I would have bought it then for a DM1000 instead of futsing around with gates.&nbsp; The underlying ability has been around for better than a decade.&nbsp;Dan Dugan&#039;s original patent on automatic mixing is trivial and cheap to implement on digital console.&nbsp; Any maker of digital consoles who wants to differentiate themselves from what&#039;s becoming a crowded field should implement it and do so with an easy-to-use interface.&nbsp; The manufacturer who does that first, properly marketed and in the correct configuration (form factor, spec, price, etc.), will find themselves in thousands upon thousands of churches, schools, board rooms, courtrooms, etc.&nbsp; If Behringer wants to keep on changing the game, then they&#039;ll try to be that manufacturer.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Steve Maksim, post: 80896, member: 1973"] Re: X32 Discussion I think we're forgetting what the purpose of patents is and how the arrangement is supposed to work (not that it always works that way). Patents exist to encourage innovation, not to guarantee a revenue stream and an easy retirement. Their purpose is to encourage the dissemination of knowledge by rewarding inventors with limited-time exclusive access to sell their innovation. The alternatives are industrial secrets, hidden formulas, and the potential for a great loss to mankind as a whole. Loss of important scientific knowledge and technical art has happened many times, for example the formulas for medieval stained glass. Imagine if John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain had decided to try to keep their methods of doping a Si a secret instead of sharing them with the world? How long would it have taken for semiconductor physics to develop? Herbert Mataré and Heinrich Welker in Europe managed to make the same discovery, but they didn't go anywhere with it; so the possibility of independent discovery is no substitute for dissemination. Once a patent is granted, it's up to the inventor to capitalize on the invention. If the inventor "blows it," then that's his fault. There can not to be any truly great reward without the possibility of failure. The other option available to the inventor is to not file a patent at all and thus keep their invention to themselves--and don't laugh, because it's worked for Coca-Cola. Still, that's risky business, as history is littered with the stories of people simultaneous discoveries. Famously, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell filed a patent for the telephone on the same day. Why should Dan Dugan get a corner on the market of automatic mixing? Sure, he put the first product on the street--good for him! He's had his chance. And as he makes new contributions to the field and files a patent he gets a chance again: a window of time to exclusively bring to market those improvements. That's his reward. Why should Yamaha get a corner on the market of automatic mixing for digital consoles? If they had wanted to get established in it, they could have done it years ago. If Dugan's MY card had been around in 2005 I would have bought it then for a DM1000 instead of futsing around with gates. The underlying ability has been around for better than a decade. Dan Dugan's original patent on automatic mixing is trivial and cheap to implement on digital console. Any maker of digital consoles who wants to differentiate themselves from what's becoming a crowded field should implement it and do so with an easy-to-use interface. The manufacturer who does that first, properly marketed and in the correct configuration (form factor, spec, price, etc.), will find themselves in thousands upon thousands of churches, schools, board rooms, courtrooms, etc. If Behringer wants to keep on changing the game, then they'll try to be that manufacturer. [/QUOTE]

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