dc@caveat.berkeley.edu (Dave Cottingham) (05/07/91)
I apologize for writing more on this topic, which this list has probably heard enough about already, but: In article <1991May3.160208.18011@agate.berkeley.edu> I wrote: >And on a separate topic, my recent diatribe here about the evils of >software patents contained one item that is apparently misinformation, >i.e. bullshit. Among the ludicrous patents I listed was a patent on >the include file. I got a message asking for more info on this, and >after some effort I find that I still have no info on it, leading me >to conclude that there is no such patent. I regret having propagated >this rumor. OK, so I just got a note from Michael Ernst telling me that the US patent on include files is #4674040 "Merging of Documents" granted 6/16/87 to IBM (so I guess after 2004 we'll be able to use #include with no royalty!) and he refers us to Brian Kahin, "The Impact of Software Patents", EDUCOM Review (Vol. 24 No. 4, Winter 1989). I promise to never to mention this patent again on this list. Dave Cottingham | "The low-bid contractor is not always dc@caveat.berkeley.edu | the truly socially conscious one." | - Loni Hancock, mayor of Berkeley