It's long and technical as you said. No wonder I gave up patenting things years ago. Do you think they will get the spaghetti unraveled before the dish goes cold? Scott McNay wrote: >Hi folks, > >http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2005dltr0012.html > > >Even Bill Gates recognized that software patents may prove to be >problematic when, in 1991, he stated in a memorandum: > > "If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of > today's ideas were invented, and had taken out patents, the > industry would be at a complete standstill today. . . . I feel > certain that some large company will patent some obvious thing > related to interface, object orientation, algorithm, application > extension or other crucial technique."5 > >...In 1991, when Bill Gates made his remarks, Microsoft had fewer than >50 filed patent applications; today Microsoft has over 4,000 issued >patents and more than 10,000 pending patent applications.7 > > -- Regards, John Durham <http://modecideas.com/contact.html?sig> ICQ number 112663246 Fax/Phone 64 4 5286786 Award winning web site at http://modecideas.com?sig PC-HELPERS list subscribe/unsub at http://modecideas.com/index.html?sig Good advice is like good paint- it only works if applied. -- -------list-services-below----------- Regards, John Durham (list moderator) <http://modecideas.com/contact.html?sig> Freelists login at http://www.freelists.org/cgi-bin/lsg2.cgi List archives at http://www.freelists.org/archives/pchelpers PC-HELPERS list subscribe/unsub at http://modecideas.com/discuss.htm?sig Latest news live feeds at http://modecideas.com/indexhomenews.htm?sig Good advice is like good paint- it only works if applied.