Fred Cisin wrote:
While not relevant for a REAL patent, for a
"Design Patent", whatever
the F THAT is, wouldn't Star Trek count?
Items in fictional works can count as prior art even for a utility
patent (which is presumably what you meant by "REAL"), provided that the
fictional item encompasses the patent claim.
In other words, if a cellular phone patent claim was worded "A handheld
communication device having a hinged cover, where the device is
activated when the cover is opened, and deactivated when the cover is
closed", then the "communicator" from the original Star Trek television
series would be relevant prior art to invalidate the patent claim,
because even though the communicator didn't really exist, it
demonstrates that someone had come up with the idea described in the
patent claim.
On the other hand, if there is a dependent claim such as "The handheld
communication device of claim 1, in which the communication occurs via a
time-division multiplexed UHF radio signal", the Star Trek communicator
is not prior art for that claim, because we were never told how the Star
Trek communicator actually works.