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Fans with LEDs Claimed as Intellectual Property


Chris
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Antec, a well-known producer of gadgets for making PCs look fancy, claims that computer cooling fans with LEDs is their intellectual property and no other companies are allowed to make or sell them because of patent infringement.

Overclocker Café quotes a statement of Antec’s attorneys, who insist that fans with LEDs that are used to cool computers and also make them look more trendy is the company’s patented invention and other devices of the same kind may infringe Antec’s intellectual property rights.

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Interesting!!

It is said that the Americans will patent anything - this looks like a good example of that.

One of the prime conditions of patentability in most countries is that the idea is not obvious. In this case the idea is completely pointless as well as being obvious to anyone with a fan and a light source.

I've done a quick search and found that the only other country where is "idea" is patented is Taiwan (TW539169Y) so other countries should have no fear of infringement if they want to market such products. Why they should want to, though, is beyond my comprehension. :)

I continue to be strongly of the opinion that a computer is merely a tool to enable far more interesting things to be done. What it looks like is secondary to this and any machine that looks like Blackpool or Times Square strongly suggests pointless frippery. :unsure:

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:D

Trying not to be too dismissive of this but, like all indicator lights, they only tell you if the light itself is functioning. The device itself could be as dead as the dodo :)

A good sensory test of a fan running is to insert a finger into the running blade area. A sharp pain occasionally accompanied by blood and pieces of flesh flying around gives a very reliable indication that a fan is working. :blink:

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The patent is owned by Antec Patent assigned to Antec by Lee.

-pops- i'm talking about the tiny LEDs by themselves.... if someone owns a patents for them, or if someone holds a patent on case fans in general, NOT the LED case fans. This is stupid, i'm boycotting Antec products and won't be recommending them to anyone.

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