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A comment on After years of trying, the U.S. government may mandate safer table saws. Parent comment

Re:After years of trying, the U.S. government may mandate sa... by kaibee on Tuesday April 09, 2024 @10:26AM (#39979787)
> I'd be curious to hear the cynical take here.

afaik the patent was basically expiring in the next couple years anyway, even the small ancillary ones. They've been making and selling SawStop saws for the last 20 years and already made their bag. So, since SawStop has the experience designing and building the systems they want to wring out some good will and see which Big Saw manufacturer wants to pay them to get ahead of their competition.

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Re:After years of trying, the U.S. government may mandate sa... by 2OEH8eoCRo0 on Tuesday April 09, 2024 @02:17PM (#39982391)
Minor tangent- I view patents and especially physical invention as requiring more work yet patents last 20 years while copyright can last up to 120 years!

https://www.copyright.gov/history/copyright-exhibit/lifecycl...

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Re:After years of trying, the U.S. government may mandate sa... by AnthonyMouse on Tuesday April 09, 2024 @03:37PM (#39983317)
Compare the difference in effect between having a copyright on iOS and having a patent on "mobile device with a touchscreen display". In one case you can do a comparable amount of work to make a competitor, in the other competition is entirely prohibited.

Also, copyright terms are ridiculous. Historically patents and copyrights were both 14 years.

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