• From: "Champion, Mike" <Mike.Champion@S...>
• To: xml-dev@l...
• Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 18:44:21 -0400

> -----Original Message-----
> From: PaulT [mailto:pault12@p...]
> Sent: Friday, October 12, 2001 5:52 PM
> To: Bullard, Claude L (Len); Dave Winer; xml-dev@l...
> Subject: Re:  Cutting special deals for open source 
> developers
> -- no way!
> 

> 
> > Patents are revenue source for small companies ... and for 
> individuals.  
> 
> For example?

The small law firms which specialize in buying up questionable patents
and licensing them for slightly less that it would cost to fight them?

I'm *sure* that's what Len had in mind :~) 

I do personally know of one small company (name withheld to protect the
guilty) with a couple of patents that they have licensed successfully.  The
patents in question were, however, of the "patent a semi-obvious idea before
anyone else does and sic the lawyers on the poor suckers who re-invent that
diameter of wheel" variety, not a stirring advertisement for Intellectual
Property Rights in a Free Economy.

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: Cutting special deals for open source developers -- noway!
    • From: Dave Winer <dave@u...>
  • Re: Cutting special deals for open source developers --noway!
    • From: Soumitra Sengupta <soumitra@b...>

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