[Freegis-list] GIS Patents at USPTO

[Amaury Jacquot]

you can find a lot of those things by searching for "navigation 
technologies"
even worse, like "using the hough (sp) transform to fit circle arcs to 
roads captured with a GPS device" or something like that...

Amaury

Roger Longhorn wrote:
> Dear list(s),
> 
> Has anyone actually *done *a full search of GI/GIS related patents 
> (software and methods) on USPTO *and *reported it to the GI/GIS 
> community(ies)?
> 
> I just typed in the words "geographic information" to be searched in the 
> Abstract field and found *75 hits*, such as the one below - which I am 
> *sure* many software developers here in Europe are or may be infringing, 
> given the scope of the claim!
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> Roger
> ral at alum.mit.edu
> 
> =======================================
> 
> *United States Patent 6,772,142
> Kelling ,   et al.* *August 3, 2004
> *
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Method and apparatus for collecting and expressing 
> geographically-referenced data
> 
> *Abstract
> 
> *
> A web-based implemented system *in which observers may pinpoint 
> locations on a scalable map in order to fix data by latitude and 
> longitude and to collect data describing that location*. Also permitted 
> within the system is the selection of non-contiguous groups of 
> geographic data points for analysis. Although not limited thereto, the 
> system may be used to track bird sightings and migration patterns as 
> well as other bird related information and data. The mapping is scalable 
> and can be integrated with a */Geographic Information/* System (GIS), 
> e.g. elevation, vegetation or city maps. Variations over time can be 
> analyzed for a specific point, and pattern movements across points can 
> be tracked.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Inventors: *Kelling; Steven T.* (Berkshire, NY); *Beloin; Ronald M.* 
> (Ithaca, NY); *Fitzpatrick; John W.* (Ithaca, NY); *Gill; Frank B.* 
> (Rushland, PA); *Slothower; Roger L.* (Ithaca, NY); *Fredericks; Thomas 
> A.* (Van Etten, NY)
> Assignee: *Cornell Research Foundation, Inc.* (Ithaca, NY); *National 
> Audubon Society, Inc.* (New York, NY)
> Appl. No.: *702407
> *Filed: *October 31, 2000
> 
> Current U.S. Class:* *707/3*; 701/206; 707/10; 709/217
> *Intern'l Class: *G06F 017/30
> *Field of Search: *707/3-5,100-104.1 709/217,218,200,206,208,220,229 
> 701/200,206,208
> 
>  >>>>>>
> 
> Unfortunately for the GI/GIS open source community (referring to 
> previous announcement that IBM was "making 500 of its software patents 
> freely available to anyone working on open source projects such as Linux 
> operating system." for that community), only two hits result from 
> "geograhpic information" *and *"IBM" or "International Business 
> Machines" - although one of these is quite valuable, one would have 
> thought, given the predicted size of the location based services market 
> (see below)!
> 
>  >>>>>
> 
> *United States Patent 6,526,284
> Sharp ,   et al.* *February 25, 2003
> *
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Transmission of geographic information to mobile devices
> 
> *Abstract
> 
> *
> Provided is a data transmission method, a communications network, a 
> mobile receiving device and data processing methods for use in broadcast 
> of */geographic information/* to mobile devices. The invention overcomes 
> the problem of lack of currency of static information distribution via 
> CD-ROM, and the problem of the cost of lengthy connections to the 
> Internet which is a requirement of some dynamic solutions. The 
> geographic data which is relevant to a transmitter in the network is 
> broadcast by the transmitter as a plurality of separate data elements 
> which each relate to and include an identification of a specific map 
> segment of a segmented map, such that the data elements can be 
> transmitted independently of each other and the map segment identifier 
> can be used by the receiving device to position the */geographic 
> information/* of each data element within the appropriate map segment. 
> Each data element is retransmitted periodically such that gaps can be 
> filled in and the map can be built up over time even if transmission 
> failures occur during a transmission.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Inventors: *Sharp; Christopher Edward* (Winchester, GB); 
> *Stanford-Clark; Andrew James* (Chale, GB)
> Assignee: *International Business Machines Corporation* (Armonk, NY)
> Appl. No.: *510623
> *Filed: *February 22, 2000
> Foreign Application Priority Data
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *Nov 10, 1999[GB]9926492
> 
> *Current U.S. Class:* *455/456.6*; 340/995.1; 342/450; 342/457; 455/457; 
> 701/208
> *Intern'l Class: *H04Q 007/20
> *Field of Search: *455/456,457 342/450,457 701/208,209,211,212 
> 340/990,995,998
> 
>  >>>>>
> 
> to find out more, have a go at www.uspto.gov <http://www.uspto.gov/>
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> Roger
> ral at alum.mit.edu
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> Roger A. Longhorn
> Director, Info-Dynamics Research Associates Ltd
> EC Projects Office
> 1A Potters Cross, Wootton
> Bedfordshire MK43 9JG, U.K.
> Computer voicemail & Fax +44 (0)870 134 6492
> E-mail: ral at alum.mit.edu
> Mobile +44 (0)7879 875288
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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