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

Guan Yang (guan@wk.dk)
Sat, 11 Apr 1998 15:52:29 +0800

linker@nightshade.ml.org wrote:
>
> 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?
> >
> >
> > Umm, no that makes perfect sense.
> >
> > If technology is slow moving, it's more likely that a single patent
> > might cover something essential, for which there is no replacement, so it's
> > more critical that patents expire as quickly as possible. If technology is
> > fast moving, it's more likely that people will be able to come up with quick
> > alternatives to your technology once they find out about it, so it's
> > important to take steps to maximize the return of investment in one
> > particular development.

Hmmm... Any real-life examples??? What if certain innovations are so
important (not necessarily better, just widely used) that we need to
make their patent lengths shorter? Stuff like GIF, RSA, etc...

> >
> > DS
>
> Ahhh.. But what if I patent the IC? Or all of quantum computing?
> (replace with anything we dont already know about, but covers an entire
> sub-field) I've just halted the development of an entire string of
> devices..

No, no, Micro$oft are the _bad_ guys. We shouldn't imitate them.

>
> Since the tech is so fast moving.. Whats the point of these patents?
> Either they strangle things out, OR they are made obsolete by the rapid
> alternatives (only to be brought up later to squish some new idea that
> relies on that peticualr implimentation)..
What is nobody wants to use these innovations, because the old stuff is
so ... um ... popular (eek!)?

>
> -
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu

-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu