From: John <nojgoalbyspam@...>
Date: 2002-03-09T05:52:50+09:00
Subject: Re: Intentional Programming

This is taking this even more off topic but I would say that I personally
despise software patents.  Microsoft is obviously not the only company
guilty of creating them.  I remember some time ago seeing some really cool
technology at Xerox Parc that was patented.  Very few of those "ideas" have
made it into the mainstream because of it.  So who does it benefit?  The
only benefit I can see is the portfolio of patents that companies barter
with.

John.

"Charles Hixson" <charleshixsn@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:3C88E85A.9080809@earthlink.net...
> John wrote:
> > ..
> > I agree with you on patents.  I know why they did it but all it does is
> > restrict progress in the field.  I am not sure what it covers as I have
not
> > read them yet.  There are links to them on my website.
> >
> ...
> Actually, it's a much worse situation than just the listed patents
> indicate.  They don't say anything about the patents that they have
> applied for, but which are still in process.  And the G.D. patent office
> is so *** that they would probably allow you to patent "A method for
> combining the values from two addresses in computer memory to give a
> logically determined value, possibly determined by either a half-adder
> or a stocastic process, and possibly exogenously determined."  They
> wouldn't understand it, so they'd just grant it.  Anyone with a good
> lawyer and a lot of money could successfully challenge it, of course, so
> they wouldn't enforce it against them.
>
> This isn't just "a religous issue".  This is cutting to the bone of
> people without a lot of money being allowed to develop anything!  It's
> getting to the point where the only way to release something is either
> to live in a country without software patents, or to release it
anonymously.
>
>
>
>