"Francisco J. Huerta" wrote:
> Aiwa having the same circuits as Sony sounds to me as Bentley using the same
> pieces as a VW just because VW owns it...
>
> OTOH, they both use steel, so yes, I guess they are sharing technology.
The same applies to his analogy about Ford and Lincoln. Ford sells several
models as Mercury at are almost identical. But Ford is to Lincoln what VW is to
Bentley.
To give an even better example, the inventor of the gasoline powered automobile
(whose name escapes me and probably almost every one) had a patent on his car.
All of the other auto manufactures had to pay a licensing fee to him.
Except Henry Ford. No Henry for was not the inventor of the auto. He did
invent the assembly line and was also one of the most infamous anti-Semites that
ever lived. But he did not invent the auto.
So the man who held the patent took Ford to court. In round one Ford lost. But
on appeal Ford was able to convince the court that the changes and improvements
that his auto had were so radically different from the auto patent owner's that
the patent did not apply to Ford's cars.
Unfortunately the rules regarding patents are often arbitrary and not uniformly
enforced. So you have a patent on something. Some big corporation decides to
ignore your patent and come out with your invention.
It is not just a matter of writing a letter to the government. You have to
defend your patent in court. Most people can't afford this. That's why so many
inventors try to align themselves with a large corporation.
Larry
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