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Re: The patent process [Was Re: Sharing the Family PC is Patent-Pending]


From: Barry Pearson
Subject: Re: The patent process [Was Re: Sharing the Family PC is Patent-Pending]
Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 19:45:07 +0100

Barry Margolin wrote:
> In article <FI7oc.362$wB.125@newsfe1-win>,
>  "Barry Pearson" <news@childsupportanalysis.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> But I know, from decades in IT R&D, that similar investments can
>> occur there too. And it applies to software as well as hardware.
>> (Anyone who hasn't lived through it may not have a clue).
[snip]
> But there also seems to be a problem with the patent examiners
> allowing many software patents for techniques that many of us would
> consider obvious.  For instance, in the early days of raster
> graphics, someone patented the technique of displaying a mouse cursor
> or rubber-band line using XOR, even though this was something just
> about every graphics programmer figured out how to do on their own (I
> remember "inventing" it when I was still in high school 25 years ago,
> fooling around with TRS-80 computers).

Chuckle! Some patents leave you a bit amazed, don't they?

But what is the credible alternative? Some people think it is simply wrong to
make money out of ideas. What? So why should someone spend effort having
ideas?

If the drug companies couldn't protect their investment with patents, how
could they recoup their costs? Perhaps:
- Don't spend as much on testing.
- Don't have any sort of government validation scheme.
- Charge immense amounts of money to get a rapid return from dying people.
- Hide your technology, so that no one else will ever be able to make those
drugs.

Hm! Is that a better world?

-- 
Barry Pearson
http://www.Barry.Pearson.name/photography/
http://www.BirdsAndAnimals.info/
http://www.ChildSupportAnalysis.co.uk/



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