Scott Kelby’s New Book and a Can of Worms?
Written by Eric on October 9th, 2007 | 11 Comments
Scott Kelby’s 7 Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 is due to release on October 19th and sounds really promising. As you may know, I’ve previously raved about Kelby’s books. I expect no less of this one.
It is touted as “so revolutionary that he’s officially applied for a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.” (Amazon description). Something inside is a bit unsettled by this fact though.
A patent for an invention is a grant of property rights by the U.S. Government through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent grant excludes others from making, using, or selling the invention in the United States. (USPTO)
I am curious to see the scope of the patent that Mr. Kelby is seeking. The patent doesn’t appear to be published yet (let me know if you find a copy). If a patent issues, will readers be forbidden from discussing the techniques on forums, blogging about it, posting youtube videos of the system in action? Is there a license to use the patent included with the purchase of the book? What if I’ve got an 8th point that makes the system better? Can I use it without a royalty on the original patent? What is Adobe’s stance on this?
Perhaps I am overreacting? Please chime in with your thoughts on the matter.
[tags]photoshop, scott kelby, 7 point system, patent, rights[/tags]
October 9th, 2007 at 8:25 am
I would have thought scott might have a lot of legal trouble trade marking a system that uses an adobe trademarked idea. I expect his strongest opposition may come from adobe. It would be like a race driver pateneting a system that uses ferrari. He has no legal right to ferrari in the first place.
October 9th, 2007 at 5:46 am
Perhaps a clever marketing tactic designed to make his 7 point process have even more credibility? After all, saying \"I have a revolutionary 7 point process\" doesn\'t quite sound as good as \"My new 7 point process is so revolutionary that I have a patent pending\". Especially true when you\'re trying to sell books about the process.
Maybe he has no illusions about actually getting a patent, but instead is using it as a tool to sell books.
Just a thought.
October 9th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Perhaps a clever marketing tactic designed to make his 7 point process have even more credibility? After all, saying “I have a revolutionary 7 point process” doesn’t quite sound as good as “My new 7 point process is so revolutionary that I have a patent pending”. Especially true when you’re trying to sell books about the process.
Maybe he has no illusions about actually getting a patent, but instead is using it as a tool to sell books.
Just a thought.
October 9th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I imagine the patent isn\'t about using the 7-point system but about teaching Photoshop using the 7-point system. That way users won\'t be prevented from using the system, they will just be prevented from teaching others in that format.
October 9th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
I imagine the patent isn’t about using the 7-point system but about teaching Photoshop using the 7-point system. That way users won’t be prevented from using the system, they will just be prevented from teaching others in that format.
October 11th, 2007 at 2:54 am
I\'d guess this was just marketing. You can file for a patent for just about anything – it doesn\'t mean that a patent will be granted.
October 11th, 2007 at 7:54 am
I’d guess this was just marketing. You can file for a patent for just about anything – it doesn’t mean that a patent will be granted.
October 23rd, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Does your new book provide help for Photoshop Elements users?
Roger
October 23rd, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Roger,
I don\'t know that Scott keeps any eye on this site and I don\'t know the answer to your question; however, I would recommend <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&am...rel=\"nofollow\">The Photoshop Elements 5 Book for Digital Photographers</a>. The whole series is fantastic and if you\'ve got a different version of Elements, there\'s probably a book tailored to that specific version. Just make sure you get one authored by Kelby. He really is a fantastic author.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Does your new book provide help for Photoshop Elements users?
Roger
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Roger,
I don’t know that Scott keeps any eye on this site and I don’t know the answer to your question; however, I would recommend The Photoshop Elements 5 Book for Digital Photographers. The whole series is fantastic and if you’ve got a different version of Elements, there’s probably a book tailored to that specific version. Just make sure you get one authored by Kelby. He really is a fantastic author.