rfg@MCC.COM (Ron Guilmette) (03/15/89)
If you thought software copyrights were disgusting, just wait till
you read above software patents!
There is a large article in page B1 of todays Wall Street Journal
(3/14/89) about software patents. Some small (hopefully small enough
to be legally reproducable) quotes follow:
"The playing field is now littered with explosive devices.
You don't know they're there until you step on one."
"... the expansion of patents in software ultimately will
restrict the growth of our industry."
"... compared with copyright, 'patent is a big stick'"
It is also interesting to note that the article discusses a suit brought
by Berkeley Limited Partnership against IBM for software patent
infringement. The particularly interesting thing was IBM's response.
If any of you saw the McNeill-Lehrer News Hour last night, you know that
they had a piece about the abuses of the RICO statutes (intended to
fight organized crime, but often misused for civil suits). IBM's
response to the BLP patent suit? A RICO countersuit changing BLP
with racketeering and extortion.
Isn't litigation wonderful?
// Ron Guilmette - MCC - Experimental (parallel) Systems Kit Project
// 3500 West Balcones Center Drive, Austin, TX 78759 - (512)338-3740
// ARPA: rfg@mcc.com
// UUCP: {rutgers,uunet,gatech,ames,pyramid}!cs.utexas.edu!pp!rfg