[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message]

Re: Another Microsoft XML patent

• To: "Bullard, Claude L \(Len\)" <len.bullard@i...>
• Subject: Re: Another Microsoft XML patent
• From: Alan Gutierrez <alan-xml-dev@e...>
• Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2005 12:07:20 -0400
• Cc: 'Rick Jelliffe' <ricko@a...>, xml-dev@l...
• In-reply-to: <15725CF6AFE2F34DB8A5B4770B7334EE0720702B@h...>
• Mail-followup-to: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <len.bullard@i...>,'Rick Jelliffe' <ricko@a...>, xml-dev@l...
• References: <15725CF6AFE2F34DB8A5B4770B7334EE0720702B@h...>
• User-agent: Mutt/1.4.1i

* Bullard, Claude L (Len) <len.bullard@i...> [2005-06-07 09:52]:

> The reason to fix the global patenting systems 
> is that they have become a means to extort.  A 
> company with means to file patents can invade the 
> technical means of markets that they don't participate 
> in and use their size (yes, the bigCos do waaay 
> more damage than the little companies all hype 
> to the contrary) to hold the innovative companies 
> hostage.  So the little companies with marketshare 
> MUST patent as fast as they can.  Does that [expletive deleted]? 
> You betcha.
> 
> The web made this worse.  Email and other means to 
> send messages directly to desktops have made it 
> possible to get a thin patent, then use the medium 
> (including lists like this) to ensure knowledge of 
> the patent goes directly to the CIOs, CEOs and other 
> corporate officers who are then obligated to go 
> to their legal departments with the information.

> So, having the web where we regularly discuss our 
> ideas is a pretty dangerous thing UNLESS one wants 
> to be open with ideas.  Even then, anyone with 
> Google or a good spider can harvest these lists 
> daily and patent like mad.  

    Thank you, Len. That was perfectly depressing.

    I like that someone is willing to say that frivolous software
    patents are currently used by large firms to coerce the market.

    I've not wanted to point out how naive that defense sounds for
    fear of falling into a left versus right perma thread about
    corporations, globalization, and whatnot.

    The threat does come from enormous patent portfolios filled with
    undergraduate computer science text.

    Thanks for this.

--
Alan Gutierrez - alan@e...
    - http://engrm.com/blogometer/index.html
    - http://engrm.com/blogometer/rss.2.0.xml

• References:
  • RE: Another Microsoft XML patent
    • From: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <len.bullard@i...>

• Prev by Date: RE: Another Microsoft XML patent
• Next by Date: Re: Another Microsoft XML patent
• Previous by thread: RE: Another Microsoft XML patent
• Next by thread: RE: Another Microsoft XML patent
• Index(es):
  • Date
  • Thread