Bad Patents Getting In The Way Of A Fun Toy; Or Why I Had To Teach My Kids About How Patents Ruin Everything
from the well-that-sucks dept
Last year I backed a very cool looking crowdfunding project for my kids. It's called Makeway, and seems like the coolest ever possible marble run setup. Marble runs are already cool, but since basically everyone in my family will spend hours just staring at some of the more advanced marble run setups in museums (or building them in the more hands on museums, or much simpler ones with just home kits), this seemed like a really amazing project to be able to create a museum-level marble run in your own home. The project launched right before the pandemic went into full swing, and, like tons of crowdfunding projects, it's had some difficulties along the way. Of course, unlike many such projects in which the creators go quiet and hide behind silence as they deal with the difficulties, the guy behind Makeway sends out incredibly and intricately detailed novella length updates, going deep into the challenges and (usually!) the solutions.
Indeed, that part has been kind of fascinating -- especially to my kids, who actually get super excited each time a new update is sent and want to hear all the details of the project (indeed, learning about how difficult it is to create a product like this, and the effort the creators are making to get past those hurdles, seems like a good lesson for kids to learn). While they've been disappointed that the shipping of the product has been delayed, the updates are still neat, and I have every confidence that the product will eventually be delivered.
Except... not all of it. The latest update gave me a new lesson to teach my kids: just how stupid patents can be, and how they can mess up cool products. Buried in the middle of this latest epic update was one hurdle that simply could not be overcome: threats from patent holders. For a freaking marble run piece.
It's not a critical piece by any means -- it was more of a fun piece. Indeed, they called it the "party" piece. Basically as a marble would zip by, a fan would spin, and it could light up with a message and play music. Neat:
The Makeway guys really liked this part too:
The party part is our pride. We invested to make it sleek, elegant, always working with no buttons or switches, and mostly - working fluently, with a slight touch of the running marble. We hired a composer to make the music, we added our vocals to the track, we programmed the fan light to show Makeway's logo, we placed an order and fully paid for 2 IC's (the brain of the part) - one for the lights and one for the music, and to our delighted surprise, all this effort came up to a really satisfying part, that we included in many of our videos. We were very happy and even surprised when all were composed together into one working piece, and we were excited to start producing it to be able to ship it soon to our backers...
But, it's not to be. Apparently, they were threatened by someone with a newly granted patent (they don't reveal who it was, other than that it's by a competing marble run company -- though they do reveal that the lawyers refer to it as the '205 patent, meaning those are the last 3 digits of the patent number -- but a bit of poking around by me has failed to find the relevant patent Update: clever commenters have found the patent) from someone who claims that this little toy violates their patent:
Unfortunately, some time ago we got a letter stating that we are infringing, with this piece, a patent that was approved a few months ago and that is owned by a marble-run company. The patent describes a part that, when triggered by a marble, turns on light, and/or sound, and/or sends RF signals.
The Makeway guy says he explored a variety of options, but with the other company demanding a huge licensing fee -- on top of all the other challenges that this project has come across, it just couldn't work out.
A company at this gentle stage of stabilizing it's financial standards, in our size and with our resources, could waste all of it's assets trying to defend it's activity in those types of lawsuits. As hard as it is for us, we just can't take the risk to get lost in lawsuits instead of fulfilling Makeway and taking care of it's future. we had to sacrifice our best part in order not to get in financial troubles that might (and most likely) risk the future of Makeway.
And that's why, this week, I (for the first time) had to explain to my kids just what patents are, and just how damaging they can be. It's something I've obviously written about for years, but didn't expect that it would impact my kids at this age. And, yes, in the grand scheme of things, Makeway not being able to deliver this one fun, but not essential, part is not the end of the world. But it really does show how ridiculous patents are. Why does such a thing need a patent? It doesn't. It's clearly an idea that multiple people were coming up with. Just let everyone develop their own versions and compete in the marketplace.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: competition, marble run, patents, toys
Companies: makeway
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
'205 patent: A method for something being caused to happen by the presence of a passing object.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Could that patent be invalidated by pin ball machines, where balls hit triggers that start sound and light displays?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
pachinko has been doing that longer than pinball.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
There are certainly a plethora of prior art, but as we know, invalidating patents is expensive and this guy has to comply or being sued which is also expensive and spending kickstarter-money on a lawsuit isn't really what the backers paid for.
It sucks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
The process is the punishment.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
found it
US10,850,205 - Marble track piece with triggered light and/or sound
https://patents.google.com/patent/US10850205B2/en?oq=10%2c850%2c205
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: found it
And what a sight it is to behold!
A light & speaker setup, triggered by a marble running over a switch.
Let's all marvel at this astounding invention! Truly, a patent monopoly is justified. How else are we supposed to protect this important innovation?
An innovation, by the way, that could be (and I suspect, has regularly has been) figured by any eight-year-old with a basic school electronics set!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: found it
"...caused by a marble" is the new "...on the Internet" for patent seekers.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: found it
ITS A RELAY SYSTEM.
designed long ago, Same as the Tilt system, SAME as the Mercury switch, Same as a mechanical balance system,same as some alarm systems use.
What a wasted patent.
And to think, it happened HOW long ago, a few months?
I would find the person who submitted it. I would wonder if its someone WHO worked on this project, and left.
That or this is a sham.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: found it
Well, creating patents these days is just a variant of a Rube Goldberg machine that in a complicated manner extorts the less affluent creators.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Is this just "bad luck"...?
... or is it something more nefarious?
This set-back smells rather suspicious.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The worse patents are over broad software patent s eg do something on a pc eg customer service login billing track price and items bought that can be used to sue almost any company that had a website that deals with customers or users
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Once again, patents make us lose our marbles.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Why didn't you teach your kids the VALUE of creating NEW?
HMM? Why is it you always hate on patents, Maz?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why didn't you teach your kids the VALUE of creating NEW?
AND... I'm blocked again! No surprise.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why didn't you teach your kids the VALUE of creating NEW?
No, now I'm IN again! May have a useful tactic...
Anyhoo, I (semi) know a guy who had patents on remote car start: provided him a decent income to support his engineering habit.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Why didn't you teach your kids the VALUE of creating NEW
Hating the abuse and misuse of the patent system is not the same as hating patent. People with nuanced opinions can broadly support the idea of patents, but dislike the way they're badly implemented in reality.
But, then, if you were trying to honestly have a conversation about the facts and opinions stated, you wouldn't be rambling to yourself about the current state of the spam filter.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Why didn't you teach your kids the VALUE of creating
Thank you.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Creativity should be rewarded with gov't protection.
But whatever "marble mazes" are is just time-wasting. -- The valuable part is STILL in the gadgetry, but if marbles and mazes only serves to amuse masnicks, let's just outlaw it!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
You wouldn't know valuable protection if it bit you on the ass, blue.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I liked this story. You should call it "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree".
Of course you teach your kids about the evils of patents. You get them to focus on the bad men with bad patents, that's really good parenting (not). If you had an OUNCE of American blood running your veins, you would teach your kids how to INVENT. How to contribute the electric light bulb to humanity. How to contribute better zippers to humanity. How to boldly go where no man has gone before! Life is an adventure, and you can use your life to CREATE!
There are so many heroes that had patents - Abraham Lincoln, for example. Thomas Edison. More and more. On and on. The fact that you can zip your fly easily is a testament to great inventors that went before you.
Bad men with patents. What an idiot you are. Are you going to ban boo because some of them are bad? How stupid can you be?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I can but look on in awe at the sheer innovation and genius required to create a motion sensor attached to a couple of lights, truly such brilliance deserves nothing less than a patent and lesser minds can but bask in the glory and pay their respects in the form of licensing fees for an idea that they never could have come up with on their own.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
In one of it's more simple forms it's called a light switch...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Electrical Current Allowance Device
Thinking about patenting a new device that when pressed will complete a circuit and allow an electrical current to flow through...need a few investors though. Have found no prior art! Let me know if interested.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Best prior art, is the Honda ad, 'Cog'. I mean, it literally has marbles and other objects starting fans and speakers (and wipers and rolling down windows.)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I remember that advert; best Rube Goldberg device I've ever seen. Discovery's Quest channel on UK's Freeview keeps trying and failing to emulate 'Cog'.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Simple Fix.
Never mind the prior art, crooked lawyers, and B.S. patent trolls, all you have to do is replace the marbles with 1/2 inch ball bearings. Nothing in that patent about ball bearings, is there?
Your welcome.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2209.html
This link is to information on filing for an ex parte review of the patent by the USPTO. If you feel strongly that this patent should not have been granted, feel free to examine the evidence and step up to do something about it. Another commenter found the patent in question in this article above and it does not look like much more than "triggering a switch with an object does X" which marble enthusiasts (and many other fields) have done forever. Rube Goldberg machines do this regularly. However for this review, they only accept other patents and published devices.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oh gawd
Seriously. Does that mean I have to pay a marble company now to make foot switches and motion switches. You know… Hands and feet are objects.
I wonder if they intend to sue GE?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]