Let me add something... patent laws give patent owners *complete* control of the patented practice -- that means they can charge whatever they like for the license. Perhaps this is one aspect why patents may be unfair, ie, that the reward is too great.
Russell: I agree that the people who develop or implement software deserve to be able to make money, so I'd not downplay the importance of implementation. In fact, some implementation details may be themselves patentable. And I also think that most patent owners are not bent on making software engineers' lives miserable. It should be a *collaboration* between the algorithm inventors and implementation folks. It's just that the power is skewed by the patent law to favor the inventors. Sorry but I *cannot* voluntarily give up the right to patent things in our project. That would be like a self-inflicted hemorrhage (giving others the advantage of patents). Who are _you_ to protect us from that? YKY ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=231415&user_secret=e9e40a7e
