Re: Gates Patents Flipping a Light Switch

[T . Max Devlin]

On Sat, 15 May 2004 16:59:08 -0400, Barry Margolin
<barmar@alum.mit.edu> wrote:

>In article <c85t6j$j2v$1@blue.rahul.net>,
> c.c.eiftj@GatesXPate.usenet.us.com (Rahul Dhesi) wrote:
>
>> Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> writes:
>> 
>> >In article <slrncac935.m82.zen19725@cabalamat.cabalamat.org>,
>> > zen19725@zen.co.uk (phil hunt) wrote:
>> 
>> >> On Fri, 14 May 2004 16:45:21 -0400, Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> 
>> >> wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >No, I didn't overlook it.  My point is that without patents, even these 
>> >> >rare wins would be virtually impossible.  Patents are one of the few 
>> >> >weapons a small player can wield against a behemoth like Microsoft.
>> ...
>> >Of course it helps Microsoft.  It helps *everyone* -- big guys and 
>> >little guys.
>> 
>> First it's a weapon that Stac wields against Microsoft.  Then, a couple
>> of sentences later, the lawsuit helped Microsoft.  Then, in the next
>> sentence, it helped everyone.
>> 
>> And all these inconsistent and random assertions are offered without any
>> proof whatsoever.

He doesn't seem to be following, does he, Rahul?

>I didn't say *that* lawsuit helped Microsoft.  I said that the patent 
>system helps Microsoft, but it also helps the little guys so they can 
>sue Microsoft.

But, of course, it doesn't, since Microsoft isn't just another company
competing with patents.  There monopoly power gives them a bankroll
sufficient to change the rules about who wins and who loses in a
lawsuit, even if it costs them billions of dollars.    Just like any
other property rights, patent in the hands of such an entity can be
used to provide predatory leverage.

>Are you expecting the laws to be applied differently for different 
>companies?  Patents are something that anyone can take advantage of.  
>Little guys can use them to keep big guys from walking all over them.  
>Big guys use them as a way to stay big.