Older readers may remember “instant cameras” invented and patented by Edwin Land, the founder of Polaroid. They became popular because their film cartridges were packaged with chemicals that developed your photo within about a minute of your snapping it. Today’s digital cameras, of course, let you see your pictures immediately without the need for film at all, let alone special cartridges.
No outmoded instant-camera maker jumped up to sue digital camera makers for patent infringement. That’s because while a device and its mechanisms can be protected by patent, the functional benefit they provide — in this case viewing your photos moments after you take them — cannot. Still, that, in a way, is what a failing company, Dynamics Inc., is attempting to do with its patent claim against Samsung, the world’s leading manufacturer of smartphones.
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