Re: [offtopic] Re: CocaCola not really a secret

George Bonser (grep@oriole.sbay.org)
Fri, 10 Apr 1998 20:00:33 -0700 (PDT)


On Fri, 10 Apr 1998, David Schwartz wrote:

> >Anyone else find it strange that patent lenghts are becoming longer
> >lasting, even though tech is moving faster?

One other reson might be how long we are living. When patent laws were
first written, their term was a significant percentage of a person's
lifetime. As out lifespans increase due to better nutrition and medical
discoveries it is natural that the spans of things such as patents would
grow.

Example: In 1800 what percentage of patent holders were alive to see it
expire and what is that percentage today?

George Bonser

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