[TriLUG] DRMed coffee maker?

[Stephen Bryant via TriLUG]

The issue with the patent is that they *did* patent the K-cups - but the patent expired a couple years ago.

I’m no lawyer, but wasn’t there a decision in that big ink/toner case regarding this? Something to the effect that circumventing a protection mechanism like this for the purpose of interoperability is legal?

-Stephen



> On May 13, 2015, at 11:30 AM, Igor Partola via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:
> 
>> The coffee maker is not a work protected by copyright.
> 
> I don't know about the coffee maker, but the coffee "cup" (the little
> plastic thingy with the ground coffee in it) is.
> 
> I can kind of see where they are coming from. They are saying "We made this
> coffee system to our own specifications. We also make a proprietary blend
> of coffee brewed using our proprietary cup method. We don't want third
> party manufacturer to sell cheaper and presumably inferior product to be
> used in our devices. Oh, and we don't want to lose money to these
> manufacturers either."
> 
> Now, what I don't understand is why don't do they patent the "brewing
> coffee from a small plastic cup" technology and use that to hold onto their
> IP instead. That seems like what patents are for exactly. They invented a
> new method of brewing coffee, so they should be able to patent it. Then
> they can license or not license the technology of making these cups to
> others. Copyright here makes it that much more complicated.
> 
> Having said all that, I find Keurigs to be very silly. They make subpar
> coffee which costs a whole lot more than buying beans and making it in a
> drip grinder. The DRM thing makes them even more annoying. I have one in my
> household (not my purchase) but almost never use it and would not buy
> another one.
> 
> Igor
> 
> On Wed, May 13, 2015 at 11:21 AM, Wes Garrison via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org
>> wrote:
> 
>>> 1201(a) "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that
>>> effectively controls access *to a work protected under this title*."
>> 
>> That's the rub, isn't it?
>> 
>> The coffee maker is not a work protected by copyright.
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