[aprssig] Re: TM-D710A Control Program - New Goodies on D710

[Scott Miller]

> I have to say I'm not surprised Kenwood did not decide to do 
> SmartBeaconing in the D710.  For one, they didn't contact me or anyone 
> else connected with HamHUD, which they would have had to do to use the 
> protocol for a commercial enterprise.  

Well.. I'm not an intellectual property lawyer, but I don't think they'd 
need your permission to implement the CONCEPT, only to use the NAME, 
since you've got a trademark and not a patent.  Likewise, a copyright 
only protects your code and not the underlying algorithm.  From the USPTO:

"Copyright protects original works of authorship including literary, 
dramatic, musical, and artistic works such as poetry, novels, movies, 
songs, computer software and architecture. Copyright does not protect 
facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect 
the way these things are expressed."

"A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any 
combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and 
distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods 
manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. 
In short, a trademark is a brand name."

So if they called it a 'dynamic beacon rate' option and wrote their own 
implementation, they'd be in the clear.

> Third and finally, Kenwood is a giant multinational corporation.   It 
> is natural that companies that large become 'ingrown,' and react slowly 
> to innovations produced in their own markets. 

Seems like they're also unwilling to take ideas from outside of Japan. 
Wasn't D*Star developed originally for the Japanese market alone?

Lately I've dealt with a number of Chinese (and Taiwanese) companies, 
and TRIED to deal with a couple of companies in Japan, and the 
difference in corporate culture is amazing.  The Chinese are receptive 
and accommodating, to the point that you wish they'd say 'no' once in 
awhile rather than trying to take on anything whether it's really their 
area of expertise or not.  With the Japanese companies, I haven't been 
able to get past the "thank you for your interest, here's a 
poorly-translated PDF brochure about our company."

But I guess they're dealing with much different markets.  China's got a 
huge export market and is eager to get Western money and intellectual 
property, and Japan's got a big domestic market and they seem to take 
the attitude that the rest of the world should be grateful for the 
scraps of technology they see fit to dole out to the export market. 
Ever seen the cell phones in use there, compared to what they export?

So yeah, somehow it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't even consider 
adding something like SmartBeaconing, and that they might not even 
recognize the need.

Scott
N1VG