On Jul 16, 2009, at 2:46 PM, Matthew Taylor wrote:
No - it is a limited protection for specific intellectual property. I can have a patent for a specific type of flying toy, but not protection for all toys that fly - and the latter is the market - those buyers and sellers concerned with flying toys.
As M$ showed us with its sales statistics for MP3 players that are brown, the market is whatever you want to say it is.
Twist and turn all you like, markets exist.
No - in the end others can make use of the inventor's invention after the agreed upon exclusive period is over. Other folks still don't get to sell Widget brand thingamabobs - they can just sell thingamabobs under their own brand that are copies.
Now you are mixing up patents and trademarks. Not the same thing.
The market is not given away - the patent holder has exclusive rights to offer a specific thing into the market.
Playing word games does not change a thing. A pie vs. a slice of a pie. A market vs. a market segment. Same difference.
************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************