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>> No one has a right to sit back and say "that's our territory for the
>> next 25
>> years, you're not allowed in". If ideas could be protected like that,
>> Microsoft and Amazon would not exist, and Seattle would be a poorer
>> place.
>
> Very well stated and very good point. Please keep in mind that I
> agree that in almost every case software patents are bogus. Just not
> in every case.
Unfortunately, just because the USPTO is a laughing stock among
programmers does not mean that its influence is not strong elsewhere.
Venture capitalists still look to pupported IP when evaluating companies,
and researchers are frequently rated by how many patents they get.
Looking at the major advances or sources of innovation in the last 15
years, the WWW and XML in particular, they come out of co-operation and a
renunciation of the private ownership/control of infrastructure standards.
Cheers
Rick Jelliffe
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