Turn off digital

[Tj Hopland]

Oh and on the copyright front, I think Frank is OK. He has the inverted colors. He did Led so I think that means his is a name vs Steve's in caps that is an acronym. And my English knowledge isn't good enough to know for sure if ON and On are the same or what wacky rules there are around that. I would say I see ON more than On but I don't know if its one of our English quirks where its wrong except when its right sometimes. Plus different locations and possibly different fonts, can't quite tell in Steve's.

And I'm pretty sure the reason Steve hasn't replied yet is he is coming up with the V2 version on a brass plate with the accompanying trademark and patent applied for under one or more of the following text like what you used to see on the old Simplex projectors.

[Frank Raia]

Tj , that is funny. Can't wait to see Steve's brass plate!

[Steve Guttag]

Actually, intellectual properly (patent, trademark and copyright) are a family business (though I wasn't part of that business). Dad and two brothers were. The phrase with the question mark would be what would be copyrighted, as it pertains to LED digital readers as used in a cinema. It wouldn't be a stylistic thing, like the font (you can't copy a book and say...but I used Arial not Schoolbook). A trademark can and often does have stylistic things to make it unique. However, a key point of a trademark is it cannot be "functional." When one of my bothers saw the Dolby double-D in the Dolby Digital blocks...his first question to me was..."would it still work if the logo wasn't in the middle?" If it wouldn't Dolby could have lost its trademark on those grounds (there is no way Dolby's IP lawyers would have let that sort of mistake happen).

I would think my copyright claim would be a weak one owing to commonality of the words and phrase with just a change of a word or two. Just don't forget where you got it, buddy!

[Frank Raia]

IMG_20250906_210758.jpg Just for you Steve!

[Steve Guttag]

I dunno...haphazard placement. Not level. Peeling. Clearly over the original "offending" work and it uses most of the copyrighted work so it isn't fair use, even if attributed. This does not meet our "standards and practices" use of the property. At least it doesn't use Arial.

[Tj Hopland]

How about the question of which side of the driver board did you put the switch on question?

That's an interesting bit about functional logos. So you invent something that has a unique shape like say the Geneva drive, you could have patented the shape of the star and how it interacts with the cam to give that intermittent motion but would not have been able to trademark the star shape from your machine as your company logo because that's the function bit?

[Frank Raia]

Tj i broke into the out of the board to the led head

[Steve Guttag]

How about the question of which side of the driver board did you put the switch on question?

That's an interesting bit about functional logos. So you invent something that has a unique shape like say the Geneva drive, you could have patented the shape of the star and how it interacts with the cam to give that intermittent motion but would not have been able to trademark the star shape from your machine as your company logo because that's the function bit?

You'd need to consult a lawyer. I'd say it would be shaky grounds but possible. Here is the way to think about it. Let's say you invented the geneva movement and applied and received a patent on it. This gives you a finite monopoly over that design. If anyone else wants to make that, they have to deal with you until the patent expires. This allows inventors to capitalize on their investments but do not preclude others from working from those designs once the invention becomes commonplace or stale. If you were to trademark the shape of the geneva star, something that does not have the relatively short time of monopoly, it would be used to circumvent the whole patent system. That is where the non-functionality of trademarks come from.

However, the Burger King logo doesn't give them exclusive rights to using a bun for burgers.

[Frank Raia]

A Geneva movement patent refers to a patent for a Geneva mechanism, a device that converts continuous rotation into intermittent, controlled motion. Key patents include early ones like US1932141A (1933) for a basic Geneva mechanism, and more recent examples like EP1828645B1 (2007) for advanced motion controllers, and US5692411 (1997) for noise reduction in a paper sorter. Patents cover various applications, from limiting winding in clocks to operating film projectors and controlling indexing in industrial machines.






What a Geneva Movement Patent Covers


A patent for a Geneva movement would typically describe a new or improved configuration or application of the Geneva mechanism, which consists of:

• A driver (or wheel): with a projecting pin or roller.

• A driven wheel (star wheel): with slots or recesses that the driver's pin engages, allowing for controlled intermittent rotation.
• A locking mechanism: to hold the driven wheel stationary between indexing movements.

Examples of Patents and Their Focus

• US1932141A (1933):
  This is an early patent for a basic Geneva movement device, foundational to the mechanism's development and application.

• US5692411 (1997):
  This patent focuses on improving the Geneva movement by reducing the noise caused by collisions between the drive pin and the Geneva wheel, often seen in devices like paper sorters.
• EP1828645B1 (2007):
  This patent describes a more complex Geneva motion controller, featuring cam units and trigger units for precise, on-demand indexing in machines.
• US2235047A (1940):
  A patent for an "Adjustable geneva mechanism," which suggests innovation in varying the mechanism's performance.

Applications Found in Patents

• Clocks: Historically, the mechanism was used in watches to prevent overwinding.

• Motion Picture Projectors: Used to move film frame by frame.
• Industrial Machinery: To provide controlled, intermittent motion for tasks like indexing or feeding.
• Paper Sorters: To control the movement of trays or other components, as seen in Ricoh's US5692411 paten