Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulo Egidio  It seems that the idea of using hardware buttons over an lcd screen is already patented in the USA.
I am investigating this; if this is true, I'm sorry but I could not sell anything to anybody.
However, somehow I think I got a lot of new friends :-)
Paulo |
I wouldn't be too worried about that, that description is far too broad. Have a look at video game controllers, they all do pretty much the same thing but look a little different. It's why all game controllers have different style D-Pads, but they all exist under their own patents.
The existing patent may mention buttons over an LCD screen, where you are using rotary knobs or a combination of buttons and rotaries, that would probably be enough to get around it alone. As The Boss said, get a good patent lawyer, I'd be very surprised if you weren't in the clear.