U.S. Supreme Court Ruling May Affect Viability of Some Diamond Cut Patents

[pricescope]

From Gems & Gemology: U.S. Supreme Court Ruling May Affect Viability of Some Diamond Cut Patents

...One of the factors that the USPTO considers in awarding a patent is whether the claimed invention is a development that would be “obvious” to a person having ordinary skill in the relevant field. An obvious invention is not eligible for a patent.
...
Although this new standard has implications for a broad range of issues, this contributor believes it presents a particular hazard to diamond cut patents, since so many recent cut designs are minor variations of previous cuts ...As the Supreme Court stated, “If a person of ordinary skill can implement a predictable variation, [the law] likely bars its patentability”. Further, the Court held that when there is market pressure to solve a problem for which there are a finite number of predictable solutions, an invention resulting from the pursuit of known options is likely the product not of innovation but of ordinary skill and common sense. For this reason, it will probably be more difficult to defend those cut patents that are but minor evolutions of previous designs. There is, after all, little question that there has been substantial market pressure for manufacturers and jewelers to develop in-house variations of traditional round and square diamond cuts.

So it might become more difficult to protect new cuts as well as many other inventions that fail into "obvious" category. How about copyright protection for new cuts?

 

[strmrdr]

copyright would not apply, they qualify for design patents only.
Even before the ruling they wouldn''t have stood up in court because of the 100s of thousands of designs published over the years.
Prior art can be shown for any cut.

 

[diagem]

This ruling has been written about in every journal, as it has the potential to affect all patents, and many are upset with the ruling.

 

[oldminer]

Leonid and all;

Do any of you have any names of currently cut, branded or patented diamond cuts which are truly innovations and not copies of old ideas or minor changes to previous designs. It would be great to develop a list and a consensus of which ones, if any, that would qualify as true innovations.