Magical Free Energy Defies Conservation Law!

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2007-03-06 11:01pm

I grow tired of seeing story after story best summed up as 'zOMG SEKRIT OIL CONSPIRACY TO DESTROY NASCENT PERPETUAL-MOTION-MACHINE TECHNOLOGY RAR!@!' Wow, the nutbar can code a good-looking website. oooOOOOOOOOooooo, scaaaaaaaarrrryyyy.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2007-03-07 12:02am

Darth Wong wrote:To be honest, if it was me and I had the secret to limitless free energy, I would try to make money off it but I sure as hell wouldn't suppress it until I was sure I could secure my intellectual property rights. With the amount of good that such technology could do in the world, and the high likelihood of people trying to suppress it, I'd go to the press, give the fucking thing away to the public domain with as much publicity as possible, and not worry too much about getting compensation. Having my name go down in history as the man who solved the world's energy problems forever would be reward enough. That, and the interview/motivational speaking circuit.

The issue is that if you didn't secure the property rights for yourself, someone less benevolent might. Most companies, if they learn of any new development that isn't protected by patent, will have their lawyers working overnight to steal the patent for themselves.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-03-07 01:40am

You make it sound like they have magic powers. It's no secret how companies get around patents; they simply make a slight modification to the idea and then call this modified version an entirely new device, in order to secure a new patent.

That tried and true technique wouldn't do fuck-all to suppress an idea that's been publicized and added to the public domain by its inventor. You're talking about apples and oranges here.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2007-03-07 10:12am

Darth Servo wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:To be honest, if it was me and I had the secret to limitless free energy, I would try to make money off it but I sure as hell wouldn't suppress it until I was sure I could secure my intellectual property rights. With the amount of good that such technology could do in the world, and the high likelihood of people trying to suppress it, I'd go to the press, give the fucking thing away to the public domain with as much publicity as possible, and not worry too much about getting compensation. Having my name go down in history as the man who solved the world's energy problems forever would be reward enough. That, and the interview/motivational speaking circuit.
The issue is that if you didn't secure the property rights for yourself, someone less benevolent might. Most companies, if they learn of any new development that isn't protected by patent, will have their lawyers working overnight to steal the patent for themselves.

You can't patent a product if it's already in the public domain, can you? I know that you can't copyright a concept that's already widespread.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-03-07 02:52pm

Molyneux wrote:You can't patent a product if it's already in the public domain, can you?

The so-called "prior art" rule would make such a patent impossible. They could simply design a modified version and then patent that, but what good would it do them? As I said before, that's a great tactic for sneaking in under the nose of an inventor who's trying to make money from exclusive royalties and stealing his invention from him, but that's because it infringes on his exclusivity. If he gives it to the public, this tactic is worthless.

Kittie Rose · Post by **Kittie Rose** » 2007-03-08 07:15pm

The only thing surprising about this claim is that Alex Chiu isn't making it.

slebetman · Post by **slebetman** » 2007-03-08 08:52pm

Molyneux wrote:I know that you can't copyright a concept that's already widespread.

According to the US copyright law, you can't copyright a "concept" period. You can only copyright implementations of concepts. The UK copyright law has some gray areas on this issue (hence authors suing other authors for plot theft).

European copyright law allows you to copyright certain forms of "concepts" (depending on the size of lobby for it). For example clothing designs, scents, and electronic circuits cannot be copyrighted in the US but they can be in Europe.

Kittie Rose · Post by **Kittie Rose** » 2007-03-08 09:39pm

There is actually a form of "free energy". It's called grass. Cows eat it. It doesn't cost anything, and it is available in many public places. Since it regrows, nobody particularly minds if you take some.

Conclusion: We should all ride cattle to work in the morning.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2007-03-08 09:40pm

Kittie Rose wrote:There is actually a form of "free energy". It's called grass. Cows eat it. It doesn't cost anything, and it is available in many public places. Since it regrows, nobody particularly minds if you take some.

Conclusion: We should all ride cattle to work in the morning.

Don't spam.

Redleader34 · Post by **Redleader34** » 2007-03-08 10:04pm

slebetman wrote:
According to the US copyright law, you can't copyright a "concept" period. You can only copyright implementations of concepts. The UK copyright law has some gray areas on this issue (hence authors suing other authors for plot theft).

European copyright law allows you to copyright certain forms of "concepts" (depending on the size of lobby for it). For example clothing designs, scents, and electronic circuits cannot be copyrighted in the US but they can be in Europe.

Thnen how come in america, intergreted circtuits, like chips ansd such have copyright entris, or Clothing manufacuters proscute bootlegers for making bootleg versions of their degisgns, o perfumes, like other recipes can have their formula pattened...

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-03-09 08:07am

Redleader34 wrote:
slebetman wrote:According to the US copyright law, you can't copyright a "concept" period. You can only copyright implementations of concepts. The UK copyright law has some gray areas on this issue (hence authors suing other authors for plot theft).

European copyright law allows you to copyright certain forms of "concepts" (depending on the size of lobby for it). For example clothing designs, scents, and electronic circuits cannot be copyrighted in the US but they can be in Europe.
Thnen how come in america, intergreted circtuits, like chips ansd such have copyright entris, or Clothing manufacuters proscute bootlegers for making bootleg versions of their degisgns, o perfumes, like other recipes can have their formula pattened...

You're confusing copyrights and patents: two entirely different things.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-03-09 09:40am

Redleader34 wrote:
slebetman wrote:
According to the US copyright law, you can't copyright a "concept" period. You can only copyright implementations of concepts. The UK copyright law has some gray areas on this issue (hence authors suing other authors for plot theft).

European copyright law allows you to copyright certain forms of "concepts" (depending on the size of lobby for it). For example clothing designs, scents, and electronic circuits cannot be copyrighted in the US but they can be in Europe.
Thnen how come in america, intergreted circtuits, like chips ansd such have copyright entris, or Clothing manufacuters proscute bootlegers for making bootleg versions of their degisgns, o perfumes, like other recipes can have their formula pattened...

To put it simply, you can copyright a type of shirt. But you cannot copyright or patent the concept of shirts in general.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-03-09 02:33pm

Copyright was originally intended to cover creative works. Patents were intended to cover technology. The problem we're having lately is with computer software, which is considered to be both. So software ends up getting covered by both patents and copyrights, with alternately confusing and infuriating results.

However, this imaginary magic free-energy device, if it was real, would be quite unequivocally covered by patents.

Cykeisme · Post by **Cykeisme** » 2007-03-11 07:05am

I think some people haven't actually gotten the point of putting it in the public domain.
If it's in the public domain, it doesn't matter if a company patents a modified version of it, because everyone else can just keep making more free energy machines of the original design.

Darth Wong wrote:Having my name go down in history as the man who solved the world's energy problems forever would be reward enough. That, and the interview/motivational speaking circuit.

I actually
lol'd at that last sentence