Custom sensor enclosure

[HaWe]

yes, correct, but the patents are only protecting against commercial use of other companies, not against personal non-commercial use.

[gloomyandy]

Actually Doc I'm not sure that is the case. I think it may very from country to country. Certainly the following
http://www.iusmentis.com/patents/crashcourse/rights/
Seems to say that in the US there is no exception for you to make something for personal use... If you are feeling particularly bored and enjoy reading an internet fight take a look at this
http://www.ciphersbyritter.com/NEWS3/PATENT.HTM

But at the end of the day it probably all comes down to cost of litigation and the actual damage done... I'm sure a lot of lawyers could very get rich arguing the case...

[HaWe]

Andy, thx, I see that we Europeans (especially in the European Union) actually have less strict patent laws than the free Americans (maybe only the commercial companies beyond the ocean are free) ;)

But maybe in case of Lego bricks it's more a Utility Model Protection than a patent. But anyway...

Thx for your links! :)

Commercial and noncommercial use

In most European countries, the exclusive exploitation rights granted by a patent are restricted to commercial exploitation. A private person who builds the patented invention in his own home for his own personal goals cannot infringe on a patent. The reasoning behind this is that such a situation cannot harm the patent holder.

US law is more strict. It forbids anyone from making, using or selling the invention, even when the use is strictly personal. Of course, since patent infringement lawsuits are very expensive, a private person is rarely if ever prosecuted for using the invention in his own home. Such a situation could occur when a private person offers on his website a piece of software that uses someone else's patented technology. The patent holder may feel that the freely available software threatens his commercial product, and then decide to use the patent to prevent the distribution of the free product.