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Submitted via IRC for Bytram
The so-called "teledildonics patent," owned by a company that many would deem a "patent troll," has just expired. Now US sex toy companies can create the Internet-controlled vibrators, dildos, and whatever else of their dreams with significantly less fear of being sued.
On Friday, US Patent No. 6,368,268 expired after being on file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for 20 years. The company that had previously held the patent, TZU Technologies, LLC, of Pasadena, California, had filed 10 lawsuits alleging infringement since 2015—one as recently as December 2017. All suits appear to have been settled, with TZU Technologies receiving a payout in exchange for dropping the lawsuit.
This expiration news was met with great fanfare in the sex toy corner of the Internet, even meriting a mention from @RikerGoogling.
"The race will be on to create the most fantastic orgasmic experience possible over an Internet connection," she wrote. "The SexTech market is exploding with demand, meaning that there will be a lot of money in it for businesses who are successful in that effort."
Meanwhile, Daniel Nazer, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, also applauded the occasion.
"It's a classic example of how an overbroad patent can frustrate innovation," he emailed Ars. "To the extent the industry faces other challenges because of a stigma against sex tech or adult products, those will remain. But at least startups in the space won't immediately get sued."
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Monday August 20 2018, @11:15PM (5 children)
Toys can supplement sex, but even sex bots and teledildonics are no substitute for the real thing. If people veer too much into that realm social skills will atrophy and make it even harder to court; the result will be a yawning chasm of loneliness that will cause other social maladies.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Tuesday August 21 2018, @12:26AM (1 child)
Who can say that the sex bot of tomorrow (decades from now) won't be better than the real thing? Soft and wet as needed, complete "control" and "adjustments" on the order of milliseconds, etc.
Oh, you meant relationships. We can program that in! With a little strong AI, you can just switch it anywhere from "slave" mode to "reluctantly tolerating your presence and on the verge of divorcing you" mode*. Call it social sexbot training, promote it as actually helping to stop the decline of social skills.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday August 21 2018, @02:08PM
AI in this area will have passed the Turing test when the robot can actually walk out on the owner and sue for ongoing support.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:47AM
The sky is falling! Is that it?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:28AM
Exactly.
I always start romantic courting with in-person dildoing, otherwise the potential partner will think I lack social skills and not be interested in a second date.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @06:44PM
It'll cause other social maladies, but that'll only be temporary. You need to produce more children in order to have a society to have said maladies.
Basically, the world is going to turn into Japan.