Re: [rp-ml] QuickParts online quoting (patent 7305367)

Hi all,
   
  G. Sacks wrote something to the effect that getting "accurate" quotes was of importance for the patent to have some credibility.. Whenever I have checked out QP or Redeye, it seems to me that it is anything but "accurate". Both of these systems work off of pretty simple volume based algorithyms.
   
  It was explained to me that they depend on averaging. Some people will pay much more than they should and some will pay less, and of course some will be pretty close to what they should be, but in the long run, averages will produce a fair return for them
   
  The best way to beat these systems is to make sure your customers get a real quote from you. That way, they can take advantage of your accurate pricing when it is lower,and take advantage of the automated QP and Redeye when those systems provide inaccurate low pricing.
   
  Kevin Adams
  
Brock Hinzmann <bhinzmann@sric-bi.com> wrote:
  Todd, et al,

I found a reference in the August 1996 issue of a newsletter I was
writing then, which refers to a visit I made to Metalcast Engineering,
which was taking automated orders over the Internet. Regular customers
left CAD files on Metalcast's Web site and received an automated quote
that was expected to be within a certain range of the actual price they
were charged. So it seems Metalcast was close to accurate and obviously
already had some way of providing an automated quote. However, in the
same article I noted an RP-ML discussion in which several participants
apparently complained that they did not have a reliable method for
calculating what to charge their customers, whether they were internal
or external customers. Therefore, if you are searching for further
discussions of the topic on the RP-ML, in which someone claimed to have
an accurate method, you might begin your search of the archives in 1996
and go forward.

best regards,
Brock Hinzmann
Technology Navigator

G. Sachs wrote:
>
> Todd, novelty is actually the easy part (almost anything qualifies as
> novel under US patent law). What is the more difficult hurtle is
> non-obviousness (though the Supreme Court has made it a little more
> clear that it cannot be trivial stuff). Anyway, it could well be
> argued that getting accurate quotes for various systems is not trivial
> or something that anyone (even someone knowledgeable in RP) could come
> up with in, say, an afternoon, without doing lots of experiments and
> trail and error ... which by itself would probably satisfy the
> non-obvious requirement. Anyway, no one should assume the patent isn't
> valid, without getting a formal opinion from a patent attorney (I
> wouldn't anyway). This list would, however, be a good resource for
> uncovering any "detailed" discussions of this prior to Dec. 13, 1999
> and/or documenting such, since its been around since before 1996, I
> think. Did anyone talk about this on the RPML before 1999? Vague
> references and hand waving don't count though.
>
> G. Sachs
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Todd Pederzani
> To: rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi
> Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 12:01:32 PM
> Subject: Re: [rp-ml] QuickParts online quoting (patent 7305367)
>
> G. Sachs wrote:
>> Wim, I am not an attorney, but I believe that merely providing a
>> service to people (that uses some proprietary method) without
>> revealing the details about how it works (i.e. algorithm, formulas,
>> etc.), does not make it public domain or impossible for someone else
>> to patent (and thus publicly disclosing HOW it is being done).
>
> I am also not a lawyer, but isn't "novelty" one of the criteria for
> patents, at least as explained to us lay-people? If someone is
> already doing it, I'd think it would be hard to patent it... I think
> this thread has served its purpose -- if someone is threatened with
> patent infringement, their lawyer can research Materalise's OnSite
> service and do lawyer-ly things to the QuickParts patent. More prior
> art wouldn't hurt, however, if there is any.
>
> --
> Todd Pederzani tpederzani@protocam.com
> ProtoCAM Information Technology
> 3848 Cherryville Road Phone: (610) 261-9010
> Northampton, PA 18067 Fax: (610) 261-9350
Received on Fri May 23 06:24:25 2008