Ethics, Patents, and Reverse
Engineering
Fr. Cl. II
2003
1
Purpose

Relate Ethics, Patents, and Reverse
Engineering
2
Ethics

Moral principals or values used to determine
right and wrong
– Action-based...
Driving above the speed limit is wrong
– Result-based...
Crashing your parents car is wrong
3
In Class Assignment 1

Action and Result Based Rules
– Form groups by discipline (ME, EE, ChE, CEE,
undecided)
– In the appropriate Code, identify one action and
one result based rule
– For each, explain why it is action or result based
– Turn in one copy for each group
4
There are very different codes

Environmental Ethics
– Utilitarian


Environment is for humans
Unethical environmental actions create environment
unsuitable for humans
– Deep Ecology

All living beings have right to “natural” existence
5
Patents

Grants monopoly for a limited period of time
on manufacture, use and sale of invention
– Exclusive rights last between 14 and 20 years,
depending on invention type
Patent information largely adapted from the Nolo.com - Law for all web site in
2000: www.nolo.com/index.html
6
Copyrights and Trademarks

Copyrights
– protection given to authors of original literary
works, and motion pictures from unauthorized
copying or performance

Trademarks
– word, name, or graphic symbol, such as the
shape of a container or product, identifying the
sources, product, producer, or distributor of
goods or services
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Patent Types
 Utility
 Design
 Plant
8
Utility Patents

Process or method producing useful, concrete
& tangible result ...
genetic engineering procedure, investment strategy, computer software or
a process for conducting e-commerce on Internet

Machine ...
cigarette lighter, sewage treatment system, laser or photocopier

Article of manufacture...
eraser, tire, transistor or hand tool

Composition of matter...
chemical composition, drug, soap or genetically altered lifeform

Improvement of invention fitting in above
categories
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More on Utility Patents

The subject of a utility patent must
– Have some utility, no matter how trivial
– Be novel...
different from all previous inventions in some important way
– Be nonobvious...
surprising and significant development to somebody who
understands technical field
10
Design Patents

A design that is
– novel
– nonobvious
– nonfunctional...
new shape for a car fender, bottle or flashlight that doesn't
improve its functionality
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Plant Patent

A patent issued for new strains of asexually
reproducing plants
12
What is a Novel Invention?
 Different
from all previous inventions in
one or more of its constituent elements
– physically different in some way from all
previous inventions
– Patent office looks at all “prior art”
existing as of patent application date

prior art - any device, method, or other patentable
subject matter in existence, used, or patented by
another, or described in a publication anywhere in the
world more than one year prior to the filling date of
the inventor's U.S. patent application
13
The USPTO on Novelty

Invention cannot be patented if
– It was known or used by others in this country,
or patented or described in a printed publication
in this or a foreign country, before the invention
thereof by the applicant for patent
– It was patented or described in a printed
publication in this or a foreign country or in
public use or on sale in this country more than
one year prior to the application for patent in
the United States . . .
14
What is a Nonobvious Invention?

Someone skilled in particular field of
invention would view it as unexpected or
surprising development
– subjective exercise--what one patent examiner
considers surprising, another may not
– examiner usually asked to make determination
well after date of invention, because of delays
inherent in the patent process
15
Novel and Nonobvious

Patent may be refused if differences with
existing patents are obvious
– sufficiently different that it is nonobvious to a
person having ordinary skill in the area of
technology related to the invention

For example, substitution of one material for
another, or changes in size, are ordinarily
not patentable
16
What is a Useful Invention?
Must have some type of usefulness, even if
only humorous
 invention must work--at least in theory

– new approach to manufacturing a polymer may
qualify if theoretical basis is sound --even if it
hasn't yet been shown to work in practice
– new drug with no theoretical basis and which
hasn't been tested will not qualify for a patent

Only Utility Patents must demonstrate
Usefulness
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Potential Patentable Things

Biological inventions; business methods; carpet designs;
new chemical formulas, processes or procedures; clothing
accessories and designs; computer hardware and
peripherals; computer software; containers; cosmetics;
decorative hardware; e-commerce techniques; electrical
inventions; electronic circuits; fabrics and fabric designs;
food inventions; furniture design; games (board, box and
instructions); housewares; Internet innovations; jewelry;
laser light shows; machines; magic tricks or techniques;
mechanical inventions; medical accessories and devices;
medicines; musical instruments; odors; plants; recreational
gear; sporting goods...
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What isn’t patentable?



Mathematical formulas, laws of nature, purely theoretical
phenomena
Newly discovered substances that occur naturally
Processes done entirely by human motor coordination
– choreographed dance routines or a method for meditation





Most protocols/methods used to perform human surgery
Printed matter w/ no unique physical shape or structure
Unsafe new drugs
Inventions useful only for illegal purposes
Non-operable inventions (i.e., perpetual motion machines)
– violate certain bedrock scientific principles
19
In Class Assignment 2

Form groups by water filter
– Identify 3 things for which you could obtain
design patents
– Turn in at end of class

Can you invent something related to a water
filter worthy of a utility patent?
20
Reverse Engineering

Systematic approach for analyzing existing
devices or systems to study design process
OR as an initial step of redesign:
– Observe and make guesses about mechanisms
that make device work
– Dissect and study inner workings of a
mechanical device
– Compare actual device to guesses and suggest
improvements
- Irem Y. Tumer, NASA Ames
21
Conclusion

How are ethics and patents related to
reverse engineering?
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