WorldCAD Access

Do Little CAD Companies Patent?

We expect the IBMs and Autodesks of the world to generate patents, but what about the smaller CAD companies. I looked for and found a few:

Alibre

"Modeling three-dimensional objects on a computer system via a high bandwidth distributed network, facilitating the computing of intensive computer-aided design (CAD) tasks to take place on a series of servers." Patent number 6748419.

IronCAD

"...editing handles for solid shapes." Patent number 6781597.

Cadkey, Keycreator, Kubotek, Datacad, Graphisoft, VectorWorks

None. But some of these vendors might have patents in other countries.

Other smaller CAD companies, like Bentley Systems and CoCreate/HP, have a dozen or more patents.

Bonus: here is the flying machine patented by Orville Wright in 1903: patent number 821393. I wonder if the drawings are good enough to recreate the airplane?

RevCloud Patented

Autodesk in 2003 received a US patent on the RevCloud command's ability to draw a redline shape made of arcs. The patent describes a method of determining the arc's size by the first arc drawn while the mouse button or Shift key is depressed:

the bulge spacing function comprises setting the bulge spacing for the multiple arc segments equal to the bulge spacing of a first arc segment when:
* a first point of the first arc segment has been selected;
* an arc defining key has been depressed and held down; and
* a second point of the first arc segment is selected.

Source: Intelligent drawing redlining and commenting feature.