🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <PETRILLI.91May24235803@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu> petrilli@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Chris Petrilli) writes:
>The Hayes lawsuit can never stand.  

*BZZT*  Wrong answer, but thanks for playing!  It's already *stood*, and the
people involved in the lawsuit were required to pay Hayes a lot of money.

>As I recall,
>copyrights, trademarks, and patents will all be invalidated if
>undefended.  

*BZZT*  Wrong answer, but thanks for playing!  A patent is valid its entire
lifetime, even if it is never enforced or advertised.  Meaning that, after
16 years, you can go and get everyone whose used whatever your patent
covers, and I think you even stand a chance of getting retroactive royalties
(although Dan would know more about this than I).

>Also, I destinctively remember Hayes
>encouraging people to use their command set.  

This, on the other hand, *is* grounds to dismiss the patent infringement
suits: if Hayes actively encouraged people to use their command set, without
stipulation of royalties, then there is a lot of precedent (mostly in Common
Law) to prevent them from exteorting any royalties, ever.

>Hayes is falling down
>and knows they aren't even near competitive anymore.  

Sadly, I think this is the case with many american companies.  In
particular, I might have been willing to buy a Mac, at one point, because it
is more usable for certain things than other machine.  But I won't, because
of Apple's ligitious larceny.  Well, that's at least one customer they lost.

-- 
Sean Eric Fagan  | "I made the universe, but please don't blame me for it;
sef@kithrup.COM  |  I had a bellyache at the time."
-----------------+           -- The Turtle (Stephen King, _It_)
Any opinions expressed are my own, and generally unpopular with others.