From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,a883dc07df0d6bb1 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: Stefan Skoglund Subject: Re: Decoding an octet stream Date: 1999/12/07 Message-ID: <384D66E3.C711845B@ebox.tninet.se>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 559193316 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <877lj2q36g.fsf@deneb.cygnus.argh.org> <81u247$kc3$1@hobbes2.crc.com> <821rc5$bim$1@nnrp1.deja.com> <822o4d$ehh$1@birch.prod.itd.earthlink.net> <824a8c$4p9$1@nnrp1.deja.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Complaints-To: abuse@algo.net X-Trace: cubacola.tninet.se 944870159 25412 195.100.240.41 (10 Dec 1999 23:55:59 GMT) Organization: Telenordia Mime-Version: 1.0 NNTP-Posting-Date: 10 Dec 1999 23:55:59 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1999-12-10T23:55:59+00:00 List-Id: Robert Dewar wrote: > Yes, indeed, and that is why software patents are so worrisome. > In some cases you cannot avoid infringing however much diligence > you put into avoiding infringement, because at some stages in > the process the patent can still be confidential, yet still > protected retroactively. A far bit of the patents gotten today by big corporations is simply insurance against litigation. MS and IBM striked a deal where IBM and MS will have access each other patents for a pretty long time. If you don't have the patents you could be toast which i think contradicts against one of the main reasons behind patents. > position, my concern is more that people should be aware of the > threat that software patents pose to innovation and advancement > of science (phrase chosen intentionally to echo the commerce > clause). This is of course a bit off topic for comp.lang.ada, > so probably followups should go to one of the many groups that > discuss software patents. Sorry to drift off topic! You aren't joking. Last year we had a small thing in the papers about not so rich swedish institutions who were worried about their abilities to continue doing state-funded research (usage of some patent in research could be an patent infringement and). That small instituion was Karolinska institutet.