1. The “Drink Mixer”
Patent Liability Analysis

2. Patent Search Lots of patents for audio mixers!
Patent 1: Integrated Audio Mixer (system design)
Patent 2: Digital Audio mixer (packaging design)

3. #1: Integrated Audio Mixer
Patent Number 6,154,161; Issued Nov. 28, 2000
Describes “an integrated, multi-input audio mixer…digitizing the analog input signals, digitally processing and mixing the digitized input signals and producing both digital and analog representations of the mixed inputs.”
“The invention relates to integrated audio mixers for digitally mixing multiple analog input signals.”

4. #2: Digital Audio Mixer Patent Number US D453,327; Issued Feb. 5, 2002
Describes “the ornamental design for a digital audio mixer, as shown and described.”
A picture instead of a thousand words?

5. Liability: Are we legal?
It’s hard to tell!
Does similar packaging constitute infringement by the doctrine of equivalents?
How similar do block diagrams need to be before infringement takes place?
How do we search through hundreds of patents?

6. Action Recommended
Do not seek patent…do not sell senior design project.
Seriously…many patents for competing design layouts exist, so they do not seem to pose a problem.
Overall system design requires further research to determine if patentable.

7. Questions?
Parting wisdom: Don’t short your power supply…