[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

I think there's some misunderstanding as to how patents work. You can patent a specific mechanism or manufacturing process, but I don't think you can patent something as general as "light bulbs on a controller". If you had a specific LED board/controller design you could patent that but they certianly don't have the patents on LED light bulbs, and they don't have the patent on controllers so the only way they would have anything patented is if it was a specific design.

Patents aren't an evil thing and they don't discourage innovation, they are a way for people to protect their hard work. PFO patented Solaris (both the name, and the product), Aquarium Illusions Patents their LED light system and the interface with profilux.

The way LED lighting will get more affordable is when
1: The product is ready
2: Mainstream reef keepers accept that the product is ready and are willing to buy it en masse
3: More than a handful of companies produce it.

I'm really not optimistic that we'll see it anytime soon... lots of people will still argue the efficiency of T5's Vs. Power Compacts. I think that T5 lighting will be advanced in other fields such as industrial lighting LONG before we ever see it go mainstream in our aquariums.

I think we all need to quit debating about weather they can patent the concept/idea/whatever as they have, so aparently you can. now thew issue is wheather there is prior art from 2003 and befor as thats the only way to bring it down. the continuation is a seperate patent that is even more encompasing. so if prior art cannot bring down one of the original patents it can stop the next one. If the original patent was so blaintently wrong and should have never been issued, PFO would have won there court battle and wouldn't have run out of money.

A us Patent runs for 20 years if issued after 1996, 14 year if issued prior to 1996. they do have to make maintance payments at 4, 8 and 12 years. if they mis any of thoes the patent is voided and they can only make changes to the patent in the first year.

Steve