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Model Forum / General / Railroads / June 2004I hear MTH will now go after DCC companies
Over on other fourms, the talk is now that MTH has won the suit with Lionel, they will be focusing on the suit against makers of DCC. This will effect all acales. > Over on other fourms, the talk is now that MTH has won the suit with > Lionel, they will be focusing on the suit against makers of DCC. This > will effect all acales. How could they go after the DCC companies? I thought the DCC was an NMRA standard; did MTH patent something that the USTPO should have not granted? Rick > How could they go after the DCC companies? I thought the DCC was an NMRA > standard; did MTH patent something that the USTPO should have not granted? The DCC standard mainly covers how the command station communicates with the decoders, with the intent that different brands can work interchangeably. However, how the decoders and command station handles things internally leaves a lot up each manufacturer. About a half-year ago MTH sent letters to certain DCC manufacturers advising them that they may be using technology that violates MTH's patents -- particularly as it applies to two-way communication between the decoder and the control station. I don't think that MTH has followed that up with any lawsuits. MTH has a lawsuit filed against QSI, but there has apparently been bad blood between those two companies for quite some time. See this: http://www.qsindustries.com/MTHQSILawsuit%20%281F3%29.htm - Mark >About a half-year ago MTH sent letters to certain DCC manufacturers advising >them that they may be using technology that violates MTH's patents -- >particularly as ... I may be off the mark, but I *heard* that lawsuit is about the reading of back-EMF. I guess my thesis is that ideas cannot be patented (literature excluded of course). The process for using those ideas can. Any techie with a decent understanding of DCC could probably write code to read back-EMF and use it to control the motor speed. Now if that code looks suspiciously like MTH's, well that's the breaks, because in a computer chip there are only so many ways to accomplish a task in the fewest steps. You don't necessarily have to pirate one of MTH's chips or microcode to do what they did. I'm with the software geeks on this one. That'd be like MS trying to sue anyone who ever invented/wrote a web browser. Of course they'd lose because Mozilla came way before IE, but I think you understand what I'm getting at. Just because someone invents a product or process doesn't preclude you from inventing a competing product, or improving on the original. This could obviously wander into some gray areas. Jay The Canada Goose is living proof that birds have cross-bred with cattle and rats. > I'm with the software geeks on this one. That'd be like MS trying to sue anyone > who ever invented/wrote a web browser. Of course they'd lose because Mozilla > came way before IE, but I think you understand what I'm getting at. Or patent the TODO list!? "http://news.com.com/2100-1008_3-5228693.html?tag=nefd.top" > Just > because someone invents a product or process doesn't preclude you from > inventing a competing product, or improving on the original. This could > obviously wander into some gray areas. > > Over on other fourms, the talk is now that MTH has won the suit with > > Lionel, they will be focusing on the suit against makers of DCC. This [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Rick Really don't know that much about it. Has something to do with speed control or something like that. MTH appears to want to control the model rr industry, not just toy trains. I am sure they would like to make their DCS control system the only thing available in the way of command control. We will just have to wait and see what happens. I think they have a suit against QSI also which has something to do with BLI. They are messing with everbody. >>How could they go after the DCC companies? I thought the DCC was an NMRA >>standard; did MTH patent something that the USTPO should have not granted? [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > make their DCS control system the only thing available in the way of > command control. Given that MTH has recently revealed that they are planning to release control systems for HO and N scale, and not just stick to the toy train market, methinks there's some iota of truth in this.  SignatureRick Jones Remove the Extra Dot to e-mail me The Lake Erie & Oregon Railroad http://www.geocities.com/seventysixinchesoffun/ If flying is so safe then why do they call the airport the terminal? >Given that MTH has recently revealed that they are planning to release control systems for HO and N scale< Real model railroaders figured out when NMRA DCC was done that propriety systems just don't hack it. I would like to see this attempt cost MTH a bunch. Their decoders are also supposed to work (somewhat) with DCC but how well remains to be seen. Should get a better idea at Seattle. |
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