Beware Mini Photographers, Amazon is coming for you!

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**Ahtman**

US Patent Office Grants 'Photography Against A White Background' Patent To Amazon

So remember to spice it up a bit in the background, or you are breaking IP law, and hate America™!

**Frazzled**

Thats disturbing...

**-Shrike-**

The stupidity... oh, feth it.

**Crablezworth**

Absurd. Madness.

**Chongara**

I really need to get on filing that patent for filing patents before someone else gets on that.

**squidhills**

Chongara wrote:
I really need to get on filing that patent for filing patents before someone else gets on that.

Better get a move on. I'm already on my way to the Patent Office with this right now!

**Necros**

What happens if you use photoshop to make your background off-white?

**Kilkrazy**

Is this a joke?

**LordofHats**

The patent office is quickly moving up my list of most slowed government bodies.

**Ahtman**

Kilkrazy wrote:
Is this a joke?

It both is and isn't.

**Ouze**

Necros wrote:
What happens if you use photoshop to make your background off-white?

Subtle, off-white?

Spoiler:

**chromedog**

White's a bad background to use anyway (even modern ccds have compensation issues with it).

I tend to go with grads. The blue-to white is overused - but grey grads work with most colours.

**Orlanth**

I wonder how Amazon are going to enforce this.

"C&D, the process belongs to us."

"We have been photographing against a white background a priori."

There is no patent because it will be ignored, any attempt by the US Patent Office to enforce this will only make them a laughing stock, and diminish the power of US Patent law.

**reiner**

Time to recolor the old light box. I was thinking taupe...

**Co'tor Shas**

Yeaah, this is one patent that is not going to stand up in court.

**Gentleman_Jellyfish**

Guys don't worry. The patent is for a very specific, practically impossible to replicate on accident method.

a background comprising a white cyclorama; a front light source positioned in a longitudinal axis intersecting the background, the longitudinal axis further being substantially perpendicular to a surface of the white cyclorama; an image capture position located between the background and the front light source in the longitudinal axis, the image capture position comprising at least one image capture device equipped with an eighty-five millimeter lens, the at least one image capture device further configured with an ISO setting of about three hundred twenty and an f-stop value of about 5.6...

**Kilkrazy**

What does an 85mm lens mean anyway?

I've been using an 85mm lens for years on my 35mm Nikon. It's great for informal portraits and double portraits.

However the "effective" focal length depends on the sensor dimensions which are different depending on what type of camera you use.

**TheDraconicLord**

Gentleman_Jellyfish wrote:
Guys don't worry. The patent is for a very specific, practically impossible to replicate on accident method.

a background comprising a white cyclorama; a front light source positioned in a longitudinal axis intersecting the background, the longitudinal axis further being substantially perpendicular to a surface of the white cyclorama; an image capture position located between the background and the front light source in the longitudinal axis, the image capture position comprising at least one image capture device equipped with an eighty-five millimeter lens, the at least one image capture device further configured with an ISO setting of about three hundred twenty and an f-stop value of about 5.6...

I... feel dumb... I read this and I go completely "Uuhh?!"

**Grey Templar**

Gentleman_Jellyfish wrote:
Guys don't worry. The patent is for a very specific, practically impossible to replicate on accident method.

a background comprising a white cyclorama; a front light source positioned in a longitudinal axis intersecting the background, the longitudinal axis further being substantially perpendicular to a surface of the white cyclorama; an image capture position located between the background and the front light source in the longitudinal axis, the image capture position comprising at least one image capture device equipped with an eighty-five millimeter lens, the at least one image capture device further configured with an ISO setting of about three hundred twenty and an f-stop value of about 5.6...

How will they be able to tell if someone steals their system?

**Gentleman_Jellyfish**

Grey Templar wrote:
Gentleman_Jellyfish wrote:
Guys don't worry. The patent is for a very specific, practically impossible to replicate on accident method.

a background comprising a white cyclorama; a front light source positioned in a longitudinal axis intersecting the background, the longitudinal axis further being substantially perpendicular to a surface of the white cyclorama; an image capture position located between the background and the front light source in the longitudinal axis, the image capture position comprising at least one image capture device equipped with an eighty-five millimeter lens, the at least one image capture device further configured with an ISO setting of about three hundred twenty and an f-stop value of about 5.6...

How will they be able to tell if someone steals their system?

I believe this is only an attempt to prevent people from using Amazon's photos in their own listings.

**Grey Templar**

Then hit them for stealing your photos.

**Orlanth**

Grey Templar wrote:
Then hit them for stealing your photos.

Wheres the fun in that.

**insaniak**

squidhills wrote:
Better get a move on. I'm already on my way to the Patent Office with this right now!

I already lodged a patent on going to the Patent Office with spurious patent applications, so I must ask you to cease and desist.

**Jehan-reznor**

How is the white background defined? i just have to be a little off with my white

**AlmightyWalrus**

insaniak wrote:
squidhills wrote:
Better get a move on. I'm already on my way to the Patent Office with this right now!

I already lodged a patent on going to the Patent Office with spurious patent applications, so I must ask you to cease and desist.

Well, I patented the word "the". I'll see you in court!

**Grey Templar**

Jehan-reznor wrote:
How is the white background defined? i just have to be a little off with my white

I'm gonna get a Patent on taking photographs in a 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, and 1% Argon atmosphere.

**SagesStone**

So now that you see how they do it, you do it in a very different way and just say it's your own personally constructed method and have documentation to back up how it differs from Amazon's revolutionary method.

**Asherian Command**

See this is why we can't have nice things...

**wufai**

I'm suspicious of GW IP infringing on Amazon's white background method. Just look at the smiliarity in the white!

where do I file the complain?

**Kilkrazy**

I discussed this with a patent lawyer I know. He said it was circulated as "Joke patent of the week" in European patent law circles, however it seems to be genuine though he said it would never have been granted in Europe.

He agreed with my points about the technical details.