On Fri, 23 Jun 2006, Robin Laing wrote:
Kevin Kofler wrote:
11. Sun is trying to patent Mathematics.
See http://www.mat.univie.ac.at/coconut-environment/ under "Patent Issues".
Kevin Kofler
I bet if you looked at IBM or Microsoft, you would find similar
applications/patents. Some companies will patent anything and everything
they can "just in case".
But this points to a problem with the patent system, not the company.
The danger of these "protective patents" is not now, but later.
We are seeing companies that filed CYA patents and then got bought out by
another company. That company then uses the patents as a blunt object on
all concerned.
Just because the company is not using it against you now does not mean it
will not get used against you later when they get bought out. (And that
includes a company as big as Sun, if they keep struggling as they have
been.)
--
"Waiter! This lambchop tastes like an old sock!" - Sheri Lewis
