(early, draft version)
Build a company with a strong product and IPR which makes it attractive to
acquisitions by software or computing companies like Microsoft, Apple, Nokia,
Adobe, Vodafone, HP, etc. The company is a new startup
to develop the technology and business around the ideas. For the first few
years of the company's life the target would be to develop the technology, grow
the business and also set the basis for high profitability and growth.
IPR: A user interface featuring specific methods for
displaying and exploring information in a computing device. The IPR can be
registered as a patent which is relatively costly, or alternatively be a
'Community Registered design' which is far cheaper and registers the design in
the EU. See Appendix A for costs.
Three ways of exploiting the technology are identified:
1. Develop a software component (a visual control/widget) to
be used by software application developers. This can be in the form of a .Net
GUI control which is used in Visual Studio during development and also
distributed with the applications that use it. It may also be a software
component for other platforms: ActiveX component/object, Symbian
component, Linux desktop component, Java component, apple OSX component, or any
other proprietary platform component.
This might be licensed and sold via various licensing schemes. One of them
might be a single license for 100-300 GBP pounds or a site/group license for around
700-2000 GBP pounds. This scheme allows the developers to distribute their
applications using the component royalty free. Another licensing scheme would
be to make it available for free or very little but charge a fee for every copy
of the application that is being sold or distributed.
Alternatively, it can be in the form of a shareware component or a free trial
version for a start. There are millions of Visual Studio developers in the
world (see Appendix B.)
Many Visual studio developers use 3rd party (mostlly GUI) controls and Microsoft fully supports and
benefits from this via their partner program. Companies like
2. Develop a plugin for explorer
type applications, e.g. the windows (internet) explorer, which will provide an
alternative browsing method of pictures or items in one or more folders. This
can be sold individually to all computer users but also to computer or mobile
phone manufacturers and distributors: HP, Dell, Nokia, Vodafone, Sony and SonyEricsson, Computacenter, etc.
Because of the potentially high volume of products using our component the
price per installation might be quite low, e.g. 3-10 GBP pounds per computing
device.
3. Develop a stand alone application which gets information
items from a file system or database and displays them in a meaningful way to
the user. This application might start as shareware but evolve to a fully
commercial product once it becomes popular enough.
Community
registered design costs (source: http://extwww.patent.gov.uk/applyingcomdes.pdf)
• The
registration fee is:
- 230 euros
for one design;
- another
115 euros for each extra design up to10; and
- another 50 euros for each extra design above10.
• The
publication fee is:
- 120 euros
for one design;
- another
60 euros for each extra design up to 10; and
- another 30 euros for each extra design above 10.
A
Visual
Studio user base April 2, 2003 "Mastering Visual Studio .NET" speaks
to millions of Windows developers who, analysts expect, will actively start
using the .NET platform in the next twelve-to-eighteen months. That includes
more than five million Visual Basic 6 developers worldwide, two million Visual
C++ developers, and roughly one million Visual Interdev Web developers. All of
them will be moving from earlier development platforms to an environment that
offers them many more possibilities. "With Microsoft's previous generation
of development tools, each language had its own IDE,"
Appendix
C. Legal Advice from Eversheds and UMIP (
From: "Knowles, Janet" <JanetKNOWLES@eversheds.com>
To: Vangelis Pappas-Katsiafas
<vangpk@yahoo.com>
Cc: Clive Rowland <Clive.Rowland@umip.com>; babis theodoulidis <Babis.Theodoulidis@manchester.ac.uk>;
Heather White <Heather.White@umip.com>; Charlotte Hunt <charlotte.hunt@umip.com>; Susan Shaw
<Susan.Shaw@umip.com>
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 9:23:07 AM
Subject: RE: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
Dear Mr Pappias-Katsiafas
Reproducing
the design in 2D by copying it would infringe the copyright in the
design. It is a complicated area!
Regards
Janet
Janet
Knowles
Partner
Direct
dial: #44 (0) 845 497 8207
From: Vangelis Pappas-Katsiafas
[mailto:vangpk@yahoo.com]
Sent: 11 January 2008 09:10
To: Knowles, Janet
Cc: Clive Rowland; babis theodoulidis;
Heather White; Charlotte Hunt; Susan Shaw
Subject: Re: Apple iPhone and
work in University
of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
Dear Janet,
thank you very much for your reply,
I received both the original and the re-sent one. Your answer clarifies things
indeed.
I pressume it would be the same
for a 2D design of user interface, i.e. the following is true:
Reproducing a design drawing
for a a user interface for a
computer display (in 2D) is not copyright infringment
under English Law.
Best regards,
Evangelos (Vangelis) Pappas-Katsiafas
----- Original Message ----
From: "Knowles, Janet" <JanetKNOWLES@eversheds.com>
To: Vangelis
Pappas-Katsiafas <vangpk@yahoo.com>
Cc: Clive Rowland <Clive.Rowland@umip.com>; babis theodoulidis <Babis.Theodoulidis@manchester.ac.uk>;
Heather White <Heather.White@umip.com>; Charlotte Hunt <charlotte.hunt@umip.com>;
Susan
Shaw <Susan.Shaw@umip.com>
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 8:55:04 AM
Subject: RE: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
I
am resending this as I am told that it came through blank for some reason
From: Knowles, Janet
Sent: 10 January 2008 16:54
To: Vangelis Pappas-Katsiafas
Cc: Clive Rowland; babis theodoulidis;
Heather White; Charlotte Hunt; Susan Shaw
Subject: RE: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
Dear
Mr Pappas-Katsiafas
It
is great to know that people are reading and learning from the Guides.
You
are correct in saying that a 3D reproduction from a design drawing is not
copyright in infringement generally. (There are some minor exceptions
which do not apply here). Reproducing your design drawing for a a user interface for a
computer display in 3D is not copyright infringment
under English Law.
The
best way to protect a design is for you to apply for a registered design.
This would apply to a design for a user interface for a
computer display. To be able to apply for a registered design the
design must not have been made public more than 12 months before the date of
application.
Regards
Janet
Janet
Knowles
Partner
Direct
dial: #44 (0) 845 497 8207
From: Vangelis Pappas-Katsiafas
[mailto:vangpk@yahoo.com]
Sent: 10 January 2008 14:46
To: Knowles, Janet
Subject: Re: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
Dear Janet,
Than you very much for your reply. It's all clear if it's about 'literary work' but not so
clear if it's about a design. Your document "Intellectual Property
& Confidentiality: A Researcher’s Guide" states:
Copyright
does not protect against 3D reproduction of items from
industrial drawings or plans
(e.g. models created from blueprints). They are
instead protected by design
rights or as registered designs
Does the case of 'user interface for computer
display' (as apple computer inc. files its patents
for user interface designs) fall into this (i.e. 3D reproduction of items
from industrial drawings or plans )?
My designs were 'user interface for computer display in
three dimensions', 'interactive visualisation
methods', '3D depiction of information items'.
What would protect best a ''user interface for computer display' ?
1. A blog or other publication
which will give it copyright status (unregistered)
2. A registered design (
I know the patent is the most preferable but also the most expensive...
I apologise for asking too many
questions but some areas are not crystal clear.
Kind regards,
Evangelos (Vangelis) Pappas-Katsiafas
----- Original Message ----
From: "Knowles, Janet" <JanetKNOWLES@eversheds.com>
To: Vangelis
Pappas-Katsiafas <vangpk@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 10:01:31 AM
Subject: RE: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
Dear
Mr Pappas-Katsiafas
Mr Rowland has asked me to respond to you directly.
The
written content of a blog will be a "literary
work" and so protected by copyright. Unless there is an agreement or
other statutory provision to the contrary under English Law the copyright will
belong to the author of the blog.
Regards
Janet
Janet
Knowles
Partner
Direct
dial: #44 (0) 845 497 8207
From: Vangelis Pappas-Katsiafas
[mailto:vangpk@yahoo.com]
Sent: 10 January 2008 09:32
To: Clive Rowland
Cc: babis theodoulidis;
Heather White; Charlotte Hunt; Knowles, Janet; Susan Shaw
Subject: Re: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
Thank you very much (again) for your time and valuable
advice.
May I ask another simple question?
Does a 'blog' (web
logging/publishing) have copyright status?
The Google blogging
tool (blogger/blogspot) states:
=====================
Your Intellectual Property Rights. Google
claims no ownership or control over any Content submitted, posted or displayed
by you on or through Google services. You or a third party licensor, as appropriate,
retain all patent, trademark and copyright to any Content you submit,
post or display on or through Google services and you are responsible for
protecting those rights, as appropriate. By submitting, posting or displaying
Content on or through Google services which are intended to be
available to the members of the public, you grant Google a worldwide,
non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, publish and distribute such
Content on Google services for the purpose of displaying and
distributing Google services. Google furthermore
reserves the right to refuse to accept, post, display
or transmit any Content in its sole discretion.
You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary
to grant the rights granted herein to any Content
submitted.
======================
It seems it's the easiest way to publishise
something quickly and easy which makes your submissions copyrighted
(unregistered I guess.)
Best regards,
Evangelos (Vangelis) Pappas-Katsiafas
----- Original Message ----
From: Clive Rowland <Clive.Rowland@umip.com>
To: Vangelis
Pappas-Katsiafas <vangpk@yahoo.com>
Cc: babis theodoulidis <Babis.Theodoulidis@manchester.ac.uk>;
Heather White <Heather.White@umip.com>; Charlotte Hunt <charlotte.hunt@umip.com>;
"Knowles, Janet" <JanetKNOWLES@eversheds.com>; Susan Shaw
<Susan.Shaw@umip.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 8, 2008 4:48:32 PM
Subject: FW: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
Further
to your enquiry.
I
have taken preliminary advice from our intellectual property (
IP ) adviser, Janet Knowles of Eversheds LLP.
You will see the initial thoughts/response below.
I
am not sure of your status when at UMIST. If you were a
student, then it is most likely that any IP rights would lie with yourself ( not UMIST or the new
On
the more substantial question/point as to the relevance of your work to the iPhone, we would need to know more
to provide a more informed view but it looks as if your scope is limited, if
anything, even if your work maps directly onto the technology ( or aspects of
the technology ) of the iPhone. The
more interesting point is likely to be whether the work that you have carried
out would constitute “prior art” to any Apple patents – if it did this might
give you a position in relation to Apple ( or more likely it would certainly give Apple
a problem if it was in the process of seeking to get such patent applications
granted ). Depending upon the position, the best ( initial
) approach might be to approach Apple with a letter alerting it to
your work and seeking a dialogue/meeting ( rather than accusations/mention of
any infringements of your work ). Of course, if you ( or
an assignee ) have a patent on the work, this would shed different light on the
matter and hence our thoughts/opinions would be adjusted somewhat accordingly.
Yours
Clive
Rowland, UMIP.
From: Knowles, Janet [mailto:JanetKNOWLES@eversheds.com]
Sent: 08 January 2008 15:13
To: Clive Rowland
Subject: RE: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
Clive
I
am assuming that Mr Pappas-Katsiafas
does not have a patent in relation to his design. If so the only relevant
IP protection for the design would be
It
is not clear from what Mr Pappas-Katsiafas
has sent that the iPhone would
infringe his design from a technical point of view and that would probably
involve a better understanding and comparison of the two items but in any event
at best infringement would only be within the
I
do not know what patents Apple has in respect of the iPhone. It may be that Mr Pappas-Katsiafas' design is in
fact prior art for one of those patents and might undermine it.
Regards
Janet
Janet
Knowles
Partner
Direct
dial: #44 (0) 845 497 8207
From: Vangelis Pappas-Katsiafas [mailto:vangpk@yahoo.com]
Sent: 07 January 2008 16:58
To: Clive Rowland; Heather White ; Charlotte
Hunt
Cc: babis theodoulidis
Subject: Apple iPhone and
work in University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology
To whom it
may concern,
I am
writing to you after I noticed that the new apple iPhone
features a (user interface) design that is extremely similar to a design I
described in my thesis at UMIST in 1996.
The details
of the design can be seen in the appendix below and also in the
following page:
http://www.katsiafas.com/visualperception/apple_vs_katsiafas_iPhone_calendar.htm
(I also
attach the comparison in a word document just in case the embedded pictures
cannot be seen in your mailing application)
I would
like to ask you if there is any case to claim a breach of copyright from Apple
computers.
Beyond
that, I have developed and designed some further methods which share some
principles with my UMIST thesis work. Could I get some support from your organisation or a suitable, affiliated organisation
to develop further my ideas and business propositions? A high level description
of my ideas can be found in the following link. (The detailed designs are
password protected, please let me know if you believe
someone might be interested.)
http://www.katsiafas.com/visualperception/
Your
sincerely,
Evangelos
(Vangelis)
Pappas-Katsiafas
Appendix:
The new iPhone calendar widget to choose a
date (2007)
Vangelis proposed cylinder visualisation method in 1995 (from his Thesis describing a
new method for visualising time series (temporal
data) on the surface of a cylinder):
Excerpt
from my thesis about the 'cylinder' visualisation
method:
" ...the instances of each time varying value are placed in a single
column. The value instances over a time period can be viewed by rotating the
cylinder around its axis. The correspondent to ‘NOW’ time point, textual tuple is positioned along the facet closer to the viewer,
which is the most distinguished due to the perspective projection and the
photorealistic rendering."
also an example of a font list
control which can replace a conventional 2D combo box:
size=1
width="100%" align=center>
Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo
your homepage.
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must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or show them to anyone;
please reply to this email and highlight the error.
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LLP which is a limited liability partnership, registered in
Confidentiality: This email and its attachments are intended for the
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=======================================
some draft notes follow for archiving reasons only
1. Core Value Both the IP of the design (not the s/w) and the implementation
(the s/w) are valuable. I am planning to publish the design somewhere (so it
gets copyright status immediately) but the best is to patent it - which is
costly unfortunately (~5K for a