as a dj, I worked with a pair of peavey sp-4s, with
a set of supertweeters I'd put on top of them. david
hafler's kilowatt amp, a mackie 14-channel mixer
and a dual denon cd + a 480 nakamichi cassette
player (amazing quality reproduction) ... and 15,000
songs ... and you can rock the room. sound test
with meco's star wars mix, from the lp. good.

but at home, it's the leaks, the yamahas, a pair of
spendors, and a pair of boston acoustics for rear
ambience -- when I hang them from the ceiling
as planned.

such fun. make it sound like they're *right there*! -- j

Well clearly the one that invents it first. However, is the foot race really an issue? Just file a provisional. It takes a few hours and one has established protection assuming they file a complete patent within a year. This is not really all that different than the past practice of mailing oneself a disclosure and technical data to establish a date of priority through the postmark.

I'm not sure I understand your concern:
Employee invention vs corporate assignment
America Invents 2013 changes (first to file)
Both?

Thoritsu, being an inventor/employee is not relevant to first-to-file. Even in first to file, you are an inventor filing an application and assigning your rights to the corporation. Only people can be inventors, not corporation. The question is who is(are) the TRUE inventors? the one who gets to the patent office first? or the one who actually created the invention first?
Your points are interesting about corporate employee/inventors.

Not sure I understand this. I am now an executive and work for a ~large corporation, but I also am the inventor of about 30 patents, and still going. While I don't make a fortune from the successful ones, neither I did not take any risk, and feel well-compensated.
I'm sure other corporate employees feel under-compensated, and some probably are, but if they are, just quit and/or pursue the patent on ones own. Some of my buddies have done this, and it worked fine for them.

Actual first to file defeats the purpose of the patent system. The Constitution says to protect the rights of inventors. The first person to file is not the inventor. Beside it favors large corporations, which was the whole reason it was passed. It is a part of the cronying of our patent system.

You're correct. It's been over 20 years and I'm missing a number of brain cells. However, whenever I had to call them, whether patent or copyright I always seemed to be talking to the same guy. Maybe they use clones.

Couldn't agree more. Speakers are the dominant element. Although, I do like the room compensation in the Pioneer VSX series. It really helps in our "man cave".

Been messing around building speakers for a few years. Used to really like the sound of horns, and had a pair of Klipschorns in college (obtained very unusually). Most recently experimenting with full-range bass reproduction, although there is nothing like a clean tweeter to make the speakers sound real. I want to try a planar or other array next to represent a large driver area with a bunch of small speakers.

well, I was thinking of the arms and vehicular
competition -- I can just see homeland security
faced off against local and state "troops" in Texas,
over states' rights issues. not a pretty sight.

and, since our kids are being turned into "drones"
in this hive, the fight against kommon kore is
even more crucial. I have no kids, but fight for
others' kids every day. -- j

p.s. thanks for the reminder about Hank & John;;
I'll enjoy revisiting that!

very fine, Thoritsu, and Thank You! I have been a
sound and music freak since childhood, and have a
houseful of speakers, though no plasmas yet.......
the latest additions are yamaha ns1000s with their
Be domes; very interesting. sound great!

my favorites (have 2 pair) are the leak 3090s
with wharfedale ribbon tweeters and styrofoam-
sandwich 8s and 15s. best piano speakers I've
ever heard. but then, there are the steinway
speaker sets for $130,000 which I'd like to hear.

very interesting subject -- people don't know that
their speakers are the controlling factor in sound
reproduction;;; if the speaker can't make the sound,
nothing pushing it can make up for it. -- j

Pendulum is good, and you can get it on kindle! -- j

I'm a geeky engineer. Can't help it.

I kind of prefer the first to file, because it inspires the original purpose of patents, which is to offer a benefit (monopoly) in exchange for technology advancement. The technology advancement doesn't happen if the invention is not disclosed.

BTW the new laws still offer public protection if the idea was sold. In other words, if you sell it you (and everyone) are protected from monopoly from another first to file. Therefore, first to invent plays a game of chicken, but it is their game to play.
Do you really think it was better before? Proof of first invention is very messy. Proof of filing or selling is relatively straightforward (we'll see how the lawyers screw this up), and the reason for the monopoly is only supported via a sale.

THere are utility patents and design patents. Utility patents are what you normally think of and cover how the invention works (its utility). Design patents cover the artistic look of a manufactured item. In the interview he mentions both, but does not say how many of which type.

Actually that is bad news. The inventor is the first one to invent, not the first one to file.

Actually the Copyright Office is part of the Library of Congress.

db will have to respond to your post, because I have little knowledge in this area. I will say we had a brilliant client who made killer speakers. Dunlavy Audio.

until recently, it was first to invent. even if you never filed and you were able to prove inventorship, you were acknowledged. Recently that has changed. now it is firt to file the application. cronies at work including those hailed as entrepreneurs like Jobs. He worked hard to get laws changed so he did not have to deal with the guy inventing in his garage. ironic

yes, herb

evl, db and have a thriller where inventors are heroes and some evil govt crats get their just desserts...

excellent points

I am not familiar with the book. I assumed someone had mixed up Ragnar Danneskjolds name with Hank Rearden . I didn't realize there was any other book than Atlas Shrugged!!!!

Oh, I believe they are arranging it. In about another 15-20 years (a generation). Why do you think the Fed is so dedicated to seeing kommon kore being implemented despite (italics there) the revolt by parents & teachers.

The Gov't damn it, needs those drones! With a generation of youngsters essentially brain-dead, the rest of those who resist will be easily pickings for the guhberment troops. For more information, read near the end of Atlas Shrugged about the troopers Hank & John Galt encounter ~ that's what we're facing. But I'm sure you already have. :)

The good news for patents now is that once granted protection is offered from the date of submittal.

Piezoelectrics displace a specific distance based on voltage applied to them by a change in the crystal structure. This is reversible as well, thus the igniter in your gas grill. There are two main types 1) ceramics, which have a very small displacement, but high force, and 2) films that have larger displacement, but lower force (PVDF is such a film). I suspect ceramics are used here.
Electrostatic speakers have been available for a long time, and have the benefit of very low mass drivers, which makes for excellent fidelity. There remains a following for them.
These are different, using the piezoelectrics as the force into the driver, which is the plate of glass. The frequency response should be excellent. Like other electrostatics, the limitation of these is probably the low frequency range, where moving significant volume of air is required to produce high sound pressure levels. That is why bass speakers are large. This limitation doesn't come from the piezeoelectrics frequency bandwidth, but stroke.

Very cool stuff. This work combining signal processing with mechanics (in this case audio) is emerging as the next set of breakthroughs. Previously the signal processing improved by computer technology and the mechanics did only in design not application. By understanding both at one time, these guys and others are doing new, very interesting things. Beam forming in higher end radar and sonar is similar. This is where the emerging "sound bars" come from. Just love this stuff. Excellent, and love the patent note!

If you like speakers and such, check out spark gap / plasma speakers. They have zero mass drivers, which produce sound in air directly via a shock wave:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJpn2PzhvP4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRNM6oopY_k
excelphysics.com/products/arc-plasma-speaker-kit
These were commercialized in the 50s or 60s, but they produce ozone and are inefficient. Once conventional drivers got frequency response beyond our hearing range, that was the end of them.

Rangar is the hero in Pendulum! -- j