The original purpose of patenting and copy write was to protect "original and novel ideas" for the purpose of rewarding their creators. It has long since been clear to me that the purpose today is to create blocks to widespread use of that which is rightfully the property of us all. There are , for instance, firms out there patenting gnomes,not just novel compounds, and this will make lawyers rich at the expense of society. This SCO thing is a prime example of an attempt by a monopolist to extract fear in the market place on the use of rival ideas, though in this case it is also a sign of weakness, because it means that monopolist is frightened of competition, and it is a classic sign of a maturing monopolist trying to protect itself, instead of concentrating on developing their own new ideas to keep them ahead.
The one bright spot about all of this is that the US is rapidly providing a shining example of why our IP and copyright models are antiquated and no longer serving their original purpose. This makes it more likely that other countries will hopefully form their own systems rather than try to model them after the US. At least, that is the one hopeful thing that I have been able to salvage from the entire SCO freakshow.
John
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John Richard Smith
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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