DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

No, You Can Not Patent “Sorting And Uploading Photos For Athletes To Download”

Oct 29, 2014 by Udi Tirosh 4 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

patent_law

A few weeks back we reported a weird patent lawsuit. , PhotoCrazy (owned by Peter Wolf), was suing a South Carolina event photography business, Capstone, for violating a few patents. without going into the technicalities of it Photocrazy claimed that “taking photos of an athlete at an event, sorting the images by the bib number wore by the athlete, and putting them a website” is their patent.

Sound like bull, right?

Right! And court backs it up.

Yesterday the court agreed [big boring legal PDF] with Capstone’s Motion for Judgment because they were not even patentable in the first place. The court said (among other things) that “all of the computer functions were “purely conventional”” and that “The Patents Do Not Contain a Sufficient “Inventive Concept”“.

But even when looking closer the court says that “the independent claims do nothing more than recite a series of conventional steps carried out using basic camera and computer functions and mostly essential to placing searchable event photographs online for inspection and ordering”

So there is a thumbs up for the court here.

Sadly the cost of running a patent case is so much bigger than the cost of obtaining a patent. The legal costs of defending this weird annoying suit exceeded 100,000 dollars and  the EFF, and now us, join the call to help Capstone regain their legal fees:

Capstone doesn’t have a widely-distributed podcast that it can use to drum up the backing of thousands of fans and supporters. Its owner’s own attemptto crowdfund the defense raised only about $5,000. And although Capstone’s business has been profitable, the owner tells us that because of the patent lawsuit and the costs his company is facing, his business faces the very real prospect of shutting down #

I just wish the court would have ordered Photocrazy to pay Capstone’s legal fees.

[via EFF]

P.S. Amazon may wanna follow up on this case after patenting seamless white photos.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Uploading Videos To YouTube? You May Be Shut Down for Title Trademark Infringement I lit fitness gear on fire while athletes used it, here is how it looks like Instagram launches “Data Download” along with multiple photos and videos in Stories New Apple patent would let you shoot underwater photos with your iPhone down to 140 feet

Filed Under: news Tagged With: copyright infringement, event photography, legal, patent infringements, patet, sports photography

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« Some Sweet Advice On Dealing With (Online) Criticism
A Guide To Photographer’s Rights (And What To Do If You Get Arrested) »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Jollylook Pinhole SQUARE DIY pinhole camera kit shoots Instax square film
  • The “Digitally Analog Polaroid” runs ChatGPT code on a Raspberry Pi
  • My first year with the Mamiya M645 medium format film camera
  • 2023 Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest unveils jaw-dropping winning photos
  • Rare albino giant panda caught on camera in China

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy