berger@clio.las.uiuc.edu (09/07/88)
Regardless of the validity of SEA's use of the term "arc", you're
ignoring some important points.
1. They can lose their right to use the term in a proprietary way
if they don't agressively protect it. That means pursuing legal
action against ANYBODY infringing on it, big or small. If they
don't, than any victory is a temporary one.
2. Maybe someone SHOULD go after SEA. But until somebody convinces
the courts that they have yet a prior claim, it's hard to defend
Katz's et. al. work as being entirely original. Aside from having
what I consider to be the "look and feel" of the SEA arc programs,
it was INTENDED to work exactly like it. Had SEA sued them for
writing an adventure game called "Raiders of the Lost ARC" or
something like that, I would have been more sympathetic.
Mike Berger
Department of Statistics
Science, Technology, and Society
University of Illinois
berger@clio.las.uiuc.edu
{ihnp4 | convex | pur-ee}!uiucuxc!clio!bergerwarren@psu-cs.UUCP (Warren Harrison) (09/09/88)
> > Regardless of the validity of SEA's use of the term "arc", you're > ignoring some important points. > > 1. They can lose their right to use the term in a proprietary way > if they don't agressively protect it. That means pursuing legal > action against ANYBODY infringing on it, big or small. If they > don't, than any victory is a temporary one. > > 2. Maybe someone SHOULD go after SEA. But until somebody convinces > the courts that they have yet a prior claim, it's hard to defend > Katz's et. al. work as being entirely original. Aside from having > what I consider to be the "look and feel" of the SEA arc programs, > it was INTENDED to work exactly like it. Had SEA sued them for > writing an adventure game called "Raiders of the Lost ARC" or > something like that, I would have been more sympathetic. > > Mike Berger > Department of Statistics > Science, Technology, and Society > University of Illinois > > berger@clio.las.uiuc.edu > {ihnp4 | convex | pur-ee}!uiucuxc!clio!berger I (and probably 99.9% of the readers of this newsgroup) really have no idea of the merits of the SEA vs. KATZ case. One thing to keep in mind however is (as I understand) the parties settled out of court. If this is the case, then the validity of SEA's claims have yet to be proven. It is VERY expensive to mount a legal defense - the lawyers usually will send you a monthly statement, which you're expected to pay within 30 days. The kind of attorney you need to get to defend a case like this is expensive (minimum of $125/hr). Figure maybe $10,000 a month or more. The case could easily cost Katz $60,000 to $100,000 to defend. If he won, he'd still have to sue to recover his costs, and there's no telling SEA would have any money to pay him off after paying THEIR lawyers. Could many small firms come up with an extra $10,000 month after month? I doubt it very much - and small businesses seldom tend to have a legal expense contingency fund. So even if Katz could collect his expenses from SEA in a separate action, how does he pay his legal people in the meantime? My point is that even when you are in the right, sometimes you just can't defend your claims to your products - especially if you are a small operation like Katz is. This is what I see as being the biggest danger of being a small software developer. Microsoft and Apple won't settle 'cause they can't afford to pay their legal bills - but Joe's Software just might. I will be interested when SEA comes up against someone who has the resources to support a protracted legal battle to see the result. Warren Harrison
mtr@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Miek Rowan) (09/10/88)
In article <925@psu-cs.UUCP>, warren@psu-cs.UUCP (Warren Harrison) writes: > which you're expected to pay within 30 days. The kind of attorney you need to > get to defend a case like this is expensive (minimum of $125/hr). Figure maybe > $10,000 a month or more. The case could easily cost Katz $60,000 to $100,000 > to defend. If he won, he'd still have to sue to recover his costs, and there's > no telling SEA would have any money to pay him off after paying THEIR lawyers. > Could many small firms come up with an extra $10,000 month after month? I doubt > it very much - and small businesses seldom tend to have a legal expense > contingency fund. So even if Katz could collect his expenses from SEA in a > separate action, how does he pay his legal people in the meantime? It was estamated that a defense for Katz would cost him between 500,000 and a million dollars. I have a re-typed copy of the settlement. Even though Katz was in the right, there was nothing he could do. that is a healthy amount of money just to prove you are right. mtr