I don’t know whether these guys are technically on solid ground, but to everyone involved this has to look like just the most egregious money-grab of all time. So this company, Clear With Computers, holds a patent describing something like an electronic configurator akin to the one pictured. Of course, the patent is ridiculously broad to begin with, but that’s a whole other ball game.
It was 1997 when they were given the patent, and it is now the year 2008. A little late, guys! Hardware configurators like the ones they allege infringe on their patent have been around for a long, long time now. It’s like the people suing game companies for having analog sticks. You have to be on the ball and at least respond within, oh, five years to have any kind of credibility at all.
[via Ars Technica]
The patent doesn’t appear to apply to a configurator. The patent describes a system for storing a bunch (plurality) of questions, then providing quotes based on the answers received. A configurator provides the customer with all available options, and lets the customer pick from these options.
The patent refers to an “electronic system for creating customized product proposals [that] stores a plurality of pictures and text segments to be used as building blocks in creating the proposal” - which could apply to a configurator if you interpret it broadly.
But it’s like patenting a shelf.