Patents Threaten To Silence A Little Girl, Literally
This is horrible. I've spent the last 18 months of my life developing an AAC text-to-speech app too ( http://ktype.net ) and have dreaded this exact scenario. I've built the app from ground up, solving each problem my users might face on my own - from my own prediction engine to handling unintentional multi-touch taps ( http://ktype.net/wiki/research:articles:progress_20111105 ) without consulting any external sources. One tiny feature (say, allowing the user to change the size of cursor) could get me in the same position if some company owns a patent on it. It is heart-breaking to know that you are absolutely helpless to defend yourself against behemoths with lawyers.By the way, the reason TTS AAC apps are so expensive (Speak for Yourself is $299, Proloquo2go is $189) is not just the developers. If you're using someone's TTS library (no good open-source ones exist), they can contractually require you not to sell your app under a specific amount because they want X% of your sales. And then of course the license fees to various patent-holders.Patent reform isn't just about one-clicks and black-border-around-touchscreen tablets. It's about preventing the stifling of innovation. I built a truly unique feature in KType - guess which of the 2-10 multi-touch taps is intentional (i.e. based on the user's preferences, guess which one is the 'index' finger). As far as I know, no app or system can do this. Without this feature, users with speech and motor disabilities have a very difficult time using a touch-screen. I would love for this feature to be a part of all touch-screens, in the Accessibility configuration. That's why I openly described the algorithm the day I came up with it instead of patenting it. But I could be sued and shutdown because one of the many features of KType was broadly patented by someone two decades ago.I dread being in an industry where trying to help others for barely any money can get you shuttered. I can make 10x more money making an ad/affiliate-network but I love seeing the look on my users' and their caregivers' faces when they are able to use my app to finally communicate after years of needing others' help. I hope this case ends well for Speak for Yourself but honestly, I'm not too optimistic.