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patents are 17 years. >From: "Kevin Connell" <kevin@nw*.co*> >To: "Mark G." <markg@pa*.ne*>, Technical Diving Mailing List ><techdiver@aq*.co*>, Cave Diving Mailing List ><cavers@cavers.com> >Subject: RE: JOHNS SCUBA >Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 13:09:12 -0800 > >Precisely! > >The secret recipe for coke? Not patented folks. And secret corporate >business processes aren't patented. > >And as an aside, patent law was written when 7 years wasn't a >technologically long time, and the side affect *was* to allow the public to >benefit from public record of invention. With most high tech stuff now, 7 >years of patent is 10 times the useful life of the technology. > >At 11:51 AM 3/29/2000 -0800, Mark G. wrote: > >> > >> > Patent law is written to protect the public. >> >>Not true; The constitution, where our patent system was born, says in >>article 1, section 8 "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, >>by >>securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to >>their respective Writings and Discoveries"; there is nothing about >>protecting anyone but the inventors, and this is done in exchange for them >>promoting their ideas, i.e.. making them public so the rest of society can >>benefit. Note that if you conceal the idea, you will most likely not be >>able to patent it. >> >> >Patent holders have >> > no right to >> > stop you from using their invention. They only have the right to >> > charge you a >> > license fee. >> >>Also not true; injunction is a standard remedy and you would be prohibited >>from making, using, selling, importing etc. the infringing product. A fee >>is not even a remedy going forward, only looking back for past >>infringement >>(because you cannot change the past and give a retroactive injunction) >> > >> > What the rate of that fee is must be negotiated but if you think >> > the patent >> > holder is asking too much you can take it to court. >> >>Not true; you cannot "take it (the fee) to court" , but you can seek to >>invalidate the patent or prove non infringement, which results in no fee >>paid. If you lose, the court/jury will decide the reasonable royalty, >>HOWEVER, this will be only for PAST infringement, and you will most likely >>get an injunction for the future. And if you knew you infringed and did >>it >>anyway because you didn't like their fee, you may get TRIPLE damages >>depending upon the judge (it is proscribed in the law that he can award up >>to triple the damages for willful infringement). >> >> > >> > If a patent holder does not build a device themselves or license >> > it, they can >> > lose their patent rights. >> >>This is not true; read the constitution quote above. there is nothing >>about >>this in the United States law, and it is totally legal to exclude others >>even if you don't build it yourself. See Injunction discussion above. >>Patent law in general doesn't care what you do; note it does not even >>ALLOW >>you do to ANYTHING EXCEPT exclude others from practicing your invention. >>Just because you have a patent does not allow you to practice the >>invention >>if others have patents on your product. >> >> > >> > In most cases like this competitors don't want to be seen as >> > having to use their >> > competitors' technology or they simply don't want to pay the money for >>a >> > license. >> >>Just about everyone in high tech uses each others patents; no way to avoid >>it. We all license what we can, and fight where we cant. I just >>completed >>a two year series of litigations Monday which cost about $20M in legal >>fees, >>where I had to teach the other company a lesson they wont soon forget >>about >>patent law. They lost their best patents to us, and their licensing >>program >>was devastated all because they "didn't want to be seen having to use >>their >>competitors technology". Go figure >> >>Mark >> >> > >> > >> > Best Regards, >> > >> > Rick Fincher >> > Thunderbird Technologies, Inc. >> > rnf@tb*.co* >> > >> > -- >> > Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aq*.co*'. >> > Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to >>`techdiver-request@aq*.co*'. > > >---------------------------------- > Kevin Connell <kevin@nw*.co*> > > NW Labor Systems, Inc > http://www.nwls.com > > Res tantum valet quantum vendi potest. > (A thing is only worth what someone else > is willing to pay for it) > >---------------------------------- > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
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