new rumor: Sigma 28-70/2,8 contemporary

[LocalHero1953]

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If these lenses were designed and patented by other brands, it would be strange if those others didn't actually make them - just Leica. Sony should be well capable of making the this 16-35 since they presumably own the Minolta-Konica patents - but their 16-35 design is quite different. And without more detail from the patent to show how much of it is specific optics (geometry, glass etc) and how much is opto-mechanics (AF, OIS etc), it is difficult to draw firm conclusions. Patents are murky things.

 

Edit: I've seen the edits to the previous post - I agree the patent appears to cover optical design, but it is above my pay grade to understand how far this goes as a proportion of the overall design of a new lens. 

Edited February 25, 2021 by LocalHero1953

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[beewee]

9 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

If these lenses were designed and patented by other brands, it would be strange if those others didn't actually make them - just Leica. Sony should be well capable of making the this 16-35 since they presumably own the Minolta-Konica patents - but their 16-35 design is quite different.

Owning the rights to a design doesn’t mean:

1. A company can make that design at a cost that its target customers will be willing to pay for it
2. A company have the manufacturing know how to implement the design

Often times a company will file a patent just to keep competitors from being able take advantage of a design, even if they themselves cannot make use of it. Patent claims are a bit like prospecting stakes. You put stakes down to keep your competitors out of a certain space. Whether you choose to mine the claim or not is a different issue. Sometimes you might make more money leasing (ie. licensing) the stake/claim to another party and have them do the hard work than doing it yourself and trying to sell the goods.

Edited February 26, 2021 by beewee