Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2001 22:37:48 -0700 From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> To: "Salvo Bartolotta" <bartequi@neomedia.it> Cc: "P. U. (Uli) Kruppa" <root@pukruppa.de>, <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: RE: Use of the UNIX Trademark Message-ID: <000601c15084$87edd360$1401a8c0@tedm.placo.com> In-Reply-To: <1002559195.3bc1d6dbd5332@webmail.neomedia.it>
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>-----Original Message----- >From: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG >[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG]On Behalf Of Salvo >Bartolotta >Sent: Monday, October 08, 2001 9:40 AM >To: Ted Mittelstaedt >Cc: Salvo Bartolotta; P. U. (Uli) Kruppa; freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG >Subject: RE: Use of the UNIX Trademark > > > >I strongly disagree. For the following essential theoretical/philosophical >reason: > >Science != technology. > >Science ~ knowledge (meeting certain requirements); technology ~ >[more or less >original] application(s) of Science. > >For instance, Mawxell's equations, Quantum Mechanics, etc cannot be patented >whereas any *original* invention/appliance/suchlike derived from them can be >patented. > >At least in Europe. > There's currently a huge argument over software patents, ie: patentable algorithims. I think that a good patent lawyer could probably successfully argue that a set of equations represents an algorithem and thus are patentable, and in so doing obtain a patent out of US Patent Office. Whether it would hold up to the argument that "the equations describe nature as observed, not an algorithem" is of course an entirely different matter. Most likely not, but there are many many examples of piss-poor patents that were granted by US Patent Office on totally obvious stuff. In fact there's a website devoted to this sort of stuff, http://www.bountyquest.com/ It's actually rather disgusting to look through this and see some of the patents that have been granted. Thank goodness that through this website that private enterprise has found a way to punish some of the worst abusers of the patent system. Ted Mittelstaedt tedm@toybox.placo.com Author of: The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide Book website: http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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