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New? Arriving? (09 Aug 2021)

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Divisor Tests Post Graduation

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21 Sep 2021 15:55 #542 by Cryptic
Post graduation what is the general practice regarding divisor testing?

-wrinkles nose at question- Doesn't fully feel like I'm asking everything I want, but that's what came out.

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21 Sep 2021 16:02 #543 by Astrodragon
I assume your thinking about testing for drick and other fun things?

My assumption it would be regular testing - how often and how detailed, depends on how likely it is they would have an episode. For those on drugs to help look after any issues, they'd have their medication reviewed as well.
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21 Sep 2021 16:44 #544 by Cryptic
No, I mean the "Is this a devise?" test like was done on Spark's suit, but your answer is good to know too.

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21 Sep 2021 16:48 #545 by Bek D Corbin
I think that Crypto is referring to the 'is it a normal technological invention that can be replicated and patented, or a wacko devise that can't?' question.

Well, Crypto, the better institutes of higher technological instruction- MIT, CalTech, Bob's TV/DVD Repair Shop- do offer such tests for known Devisor students. If only to keep the collateral damage down. Past that, it's largely a matter of know-who.
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21 Sep 2021 18:05 #547 by Sir Lee
I think that there's a misconception here about the purpose of the Devisor Test. It's not about whether it's "acceptable" to go to the Patent Office with it; it's about whether it's worth the considerable expense of doing so.
The P.O. does not check if a design works; it only checks (badly) if there's "prior art", that is, if somebody has previously come up with the same idea. And, did you notice the "badly" back there? O lot of unoriginal patent applications slip by, leaving it to the courts later to invalidate the patent if someone balks about paying royalties for your patent of "method for obtaining heat by accelerated oxidation of organic matter" (a.k.a. fire).
The purpose of a patent is to deter copycats; devises are by definition uncopiable, so it's not worth it to patent them.
So, an inventor who thinks they have something of commercial value but is unsure if it's a devise or a gadget will WANT to do a "devisor test" before forking the dough to hire a patent lawyer.
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21 Sep 2021 22:04 #549 by Kristin Darken
Thank you Sir Lee.

I think it's important to note that while the kids making stuff for themselves or team mates are just putting things together in a fugue state... anyone who is going to try to sell something is creating blueprints, schematics, and documentation of principles/theory. They aren't take a functioning prototype PFG and handing it off to someone as a marketable product for secret service and high end bodyguards and hoping someone will buy it. Yes, there are people who sell completed projects. The super community is sort of known for that... you don't always have a tech person on your team, so you buy the jet packs and holdouts from someone else. But that's not the process involved when you sell tech for manufacture by someone else.

Selling something to a corporation for them to make and sell it... might benefit from having a working prototype, but once you show them that it works ; you'll have to give them the means to build it. And the prototype is NOT that means.

And while there ARE devisors who will keep scientific and engineering records, they're going to be full of unique notations and 'black box' items.... because there aren't existing components that achieve what a devise makes them do. Black box items on a gadget will be further broken down with manufacturing details... because while they aren't buildable by current commercial means, they ARE buildable... and if you cannot provide those methods, the tech might as well be a devise.

So, really... the 'test' is just a good engineer reviewing the documentation and schematics.

Fate guard you, and may the Light brighten your Way.
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21 Sep 2021 23:09 #551 by null0trooper

Black box items on a gadget will be further broken down with manufacturing details... because while they aren't buildable by current commercial means, they ARE buildable... and if you cannot provide those methods, the tech might as well be a devise.

It might be feasible to license a design that incorporates single-sourced components, and everyone involved may think it's good enough. Then the company that makes that one widget within the exact specs required is bought out and raided for a quick turnaround on their IP and customer base. Or, the inventor's proprietary production methods were assumed to be easy to back-engineer. Or both, like a red majolica pigment that can only be approximated in reproductions because no one else knows where that specific rouge came from. Many falsified statements have begun with "We can always..."

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22 Sep 2021 15:32 #553 by Mister D
Thinking about the average university, and their approach towards alumni, It wouldn't be out of the question for Whateley to continue to provide this form of after-service for graduated Devisor's/Gadgeteer's.

At the very least, the Order of the Worn Wrench would have some form of follow-up, if only so that their members get to drool over the new :D

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22 Sep 2021 16:37 #554 by Sir Lee
Hmmm... possibly. It could even be a revenue stream to the school, if it were provided as a package deal with patent attorney services. But not too many, I don't think so -- students have to develop their own projects, not just keep doing devisor tests for alumni.

And, of course, by the Gen2 timeframe AJG Associates should be offering those services to their clients.
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22 Sep 2021 23:21 #555 by Kristin Darken
There's two things I think would get in the way of the school's law team handling too many alumni in this way.
1. The Neutrality. The law only really serves one side of things. The more the school's lawyers are involved in regular court proceedings, the less they are doing for the 'villain' side.
2. Visibility issues. Also, the more the school's lawyers are involved in patent and corporate law proceedings, the harder it would be for them to stay off the radar of the big business world. You can't file against a major corporate manufacturing biz without them wanting to know about the law team they are facing. And Whateley would become visible quickly that way.

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