🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <9302@cactus.org> ritter@cactus.org (Zippy Ritter) writes:
> >> In fact, "obviousness" is technical term in patent law and the
> >> examination process.
> Dan>Actually, ``obvious'' is not a term defined by the courts,

Zippy now attempts to justify this by giving an example of patent law
which *uses* the word ``obvious.'' I hope other gnu.misc.discuss readers
can see the difference between *using* the word and *defining* the word.
The courts feel free to *use* such words as ``skill,'' ``manufacture,''
``person,'' ``and,'' and even ``the''; like ``obvious,'' these words are
all defined by your dictionary, not by the courts.

> "Obviousness" is the third of the three major legs of patent law, and is
> INDEED defined and interpreted in case law and examination practice.

Once again, folks, Zippy's claim is complete and utter bullshit. There
are exactly zero definitions of the word ``obvious'' in patent law.
There are many *uses* of it, but it's no more a ``technical term'' than
``skill'' or ``the.''

> >> I seriously doubt that a whole program could be patented effectively;
> Dan>I wonder if Zippy has ever heard of ``data compression.''
> I wonder if Danny has ever *looked* at those patents.  Say, Danny, do
> they happen to describe *an entire program*, or just the compression
> technique itself?  Or did you just miss the words "a whole program?"

The *entire* compress program can be considered a ``compression and
decompression system'' covered by the LZW patent. Zippy, are you
thinking, or simply frothing at the mouth?

> I find something irritating about someone who will deliberately try to
> leave the impression that a (fairly casual) statement is false, when,
> in fact, the general thrust is true, true, true.

Actually, not only are most of your statements entirely false, but the
``general thrust'' is false, false, false. For instance:

> Through the 60's and 70's the PTO would not grant "software patents."

Once again Zippy shows that he doesn't know what he's talking about.
United States Patent 338029 covers not only software but an entire
algorithm. It is clearly worded to cover that algorithm. It was granted
in 1968.

---Dan