Update on the Bosch ReaXX vs Sawstop issue

[David Kumm]

I participated in standards meetings for communications. Every standard that I was involved with had quite a few patented concepts included. If a company was going to implement the standard, they had to use the patents. You didn't have to examine the other company's product - if the advertised that they met the standard, they used your patents (if your patents were part of the standard).

To participate in the standards meetings, each company had to agree to license their patents that were included in the standard "freely and reasonably". Freely was easy to define - the patents would be licensed to all comers. Reasonably was more difficult but there were some historical guidelines.

But for lower priced products, such as dial modems, if you did not have any patents that you could trade, you probably could not compete in the market. The patent fees would make your product too expensive.

There's a dispute going on right now between Apple and Qualcomm about what a "reasonable" patent license fee is. For more info, google "apple qualcomm lawsuit".

I suspect that if "flesh sensing technology" were to become a mandated feature, the agency issuing the mandate would have some requirements on the licensing fees for required patents. If they didn't, the patent holder could become a monopoly provider by simply making the license fees so large that no one could produce the product for a reasonable price.

Mike

That would be fair. I still hope that no mandate is made but in no way meant to belittle Gass. He has given us a choice. I'm all for choices. Dave

[Roger Marty]

I participated in standards meetings for communications. Every standard that I was involved with had quite a few patented concepts included. If a company was going to implement the standard, they had to use the patents. You didn't have to examine the other company's product - if the advertised that they met the standard, they used your patents (if your patents were part of the standard).

To participate in the standards meetings, each company had to agree to license their patents that were included in the standard "freely and reasonably". Freely was easy to define - the patents would be licensed to all comers. Reasonably was more difficult but there were some historical guidelines.

But for lower priced products, such as dial modems, if you did not have any patents that you could trade, you probably could not compete in the market. The patent fees would make your product too expensive.

There's a dispute going on right now between Apple and Qualcomm about what a "reasonable" patent license fee is. For more info, google "apple qualcomm lawsuit".

I suspect that if "flesh sensing technology" were to become a mandated feature, the agency issuing the mandate would have some requirements on the licensing fees for required patents. If they didn't, the patent holder(s) could become a monopoly provider by simply making the license fees so large that no one could produce the product for a reasonable price.

Mike

Yup, you are spot on. Mandating use of a patented technology does not automatically mean that the patent holder has complete power to determine licensing fees.