🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <9260@cactus.org> ritter@cactus.org (Terry Ritter) writes:
>   This is probably a pretty easy patent to get around, technically.
>   The point is that it is a *standard*, and Hayes *established* that
>   standard.  Why should they *not* get rewarded?  If you want to do it
>   some other way and set up your own standard, then fine.  Because they
>   got in early, made units, and established conventions, they earned the
>   right to benefit when society selected their work as standard.
	Myabe so, but what does this have to do with patents?  Patents
are not "rewards", they are (supposed to be) contracts: The inventor
agrees to disclose his invention; in return, society agrees to make
sure he doesn't lose by the disclosure (by granting him a limited
monopoly).  The ONLY point in granting the monopoly is to get the
inventor to disclose the invention.  Mind you, the patent process
has already been perverted from this aim by the (US only) ability to
apply for a patent up to a year after you've disclosed it.

^.-.^ Mark Purtill, IDA/CCR-P, Thanet Road, Princeton NJ  08540; (609)924-4600.
((")) Email: purtill%idacrd@princeton.edu; uunet!idacrd!purtill. (609)497-0526.