RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-27 Thread Kennerly, Rick H CIV
Or at least implement them within a certain amount of time. 

 
Rick

-Original Message-
From: Thomas Chiverton [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, 27 October, 2003 07:24
To: CF-Talk
Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

On Friday 24 Oct 2003 17:46 pm, Matt Liotta wrote:
> ideas they never implement? Because the practice of patenting ideas
> without implementing them into a product is quite common. 

And shouldn't be allowed.
If you event a physical device and patent it (in the US) you have to provide
a 
working example. This does not seem to be the case with buisness process 
patents, which is wrong.

-- 
Tom Chiverton 
Advanced ColdFusion Programmer

Tel: +44(0)1749 834997
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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-27 Thread Thomas Chiverton
On Friday 24 Oct 2003 17:46 pm, Matt Liotta wrote:
> ideas they never implement? Because the practice of patenting ideas
> without implementing them into a product is quite common. 

And shouldn't be allowed.
If you event a physical device and patent it (in the US) you have to provide a 
working example. This does not seem to be the case with buisness process 
patents, which is wrong.

-- 
Tom Chiverton 
Advanced ColdFusion Programmer

Tel: +44(0)1749 834997
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
BlueFinger Limited
Underwood Business Park
Wookey Hole Road, WELLS. BA5 1AF
Tel: +44 (0)1749 834900
Fax: +44 (0)1749 834901
web: www.bluefinger.com
Company Reg No: 4209395 Registered Office: 2 Temple Back East, Temple
Quay, BRISTOL. BS1 6EG.
*** This E-mail contains confidential information for the addressee
only. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify us
immediately. You should not use, disclose, distribute or copy this
communication if received in error. No binding contract will result from
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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news), beat the horse dead

2003-10-24 Thread John Quarto-vonTivadar
> No worries, I'm taking out a Patent on being an Asshole, then I'm going
> after Eolas and all these other jokers for infringement. Ask anyone I
> know, I'll get the patent.
>

You'd have a tough time doing full discovery on all "prior art" on the
topic.

Besides, you'd only get a Patent on the PROCESS of  becoming an Asshole, not
just on having achieved Asshole-ishness ... the latter, in today's parlance,
is called a design pattern.

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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news), beat the horse dead

2003-10-24 Thread Mark A. Kruger - CFG
I suppose you could "sit on" your patent for a while like eolas (lol).
  -Original Message-
  From: Joshua Miller [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
  Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 2:53 PM
  To: CF-Talk
  Subject: RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news), beat the horse dead

  No worries, I'm taking out a Patent on being an Asshole, then I'm going
  after Eolas and all these other jokers for infringement. Ask anyone I
  know, I'll get the patent.

  I wonder if one can get a patent on "Lawsuit as Business Model". Then we
  could really stick it to some people.

  On Fri, 2003-10-24 at 15:38, Kevin Marino wrote:
  > Matt, 
  > 
  > 
  > Agree. as developers purely technical situations as this are a
  > nuisance for
  > sure, but the patents you need to be outraged about center on business
  > methods. Its these patents that make it almost impossible to say for
  > example, build an ecommerce site.  I can pretty much bet anybody on
  > this
  > list who has built an ecommerce site has for most intents and purposes
  > probably infringed on a patent. 
  > 
  > 
  > So instead of being outraged because you have to add a few lines of
  > code to
  > work around a patent to make your project accessible to the majority
  > of your
  > customer base, you should take up the grievance with the patent office
  > and
  > government when they allow business method patents and other far more
  > damaging patents.
  > 
  > 
  > That's my 2 cents, hope this thread ends soon (filling my mail box up,
  > gonna
  > have to start a new folder for this thread alone  hehe )
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > -Kevin Marino
  > --
  > Webmaster - HealthObjects
  > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
  > 410 895 0377  
  > 
  > -----Original Message-
  > From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
  > Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 3:17 PM
  > To: CF-Talk
  > Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)
  > 
  > > But Eolas is still only suing MS and that is precisely my issue with
  > > him. I don't think he has any intentions of suing Apple and AOL.
  > Which
  > > in my book are still pretty big fish. They have openly said they are
  > > trying to 'balance the internet browser war'. (ie. We're only going
  > to
  > > sue MS)
  > >
  > I don't know how many times I have to repeat myself. It is standard 
  > practice to sue the biggest fish first and then to handle the rest 
  > after that case is finished. This a legal strategy used in all 
  > industries. Further, this strategy has the additional business benefit
  > of reducing overall legal expenses as the other companies will 
  > generally settle if the first lawsuit is won. Eolas's decision to 
  > pursue only Microsoft at this point is common and expected behavior.
  > 
  > All of the reasons people keeping pointing out that make Eolas a bad 
  > company in their eyes can be applied to most of the top companies in 
  > existence. IMHO, web developers only seem to care about this
  > particular 
  > patent issue because it affects them directly. Where is the outcry for
  > all the other stupid patents and the companies behind them?
  > 
  > Matt Liotta
  > President & CEO
  > Montara Software, Inc.
  > http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
  > (888) 408-0900 x901
  > 
  >   _  
  > 
  > 
  > 

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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news), beat the horse dead

2003-10-24 Thread Joshua Miller
No worries, I'm taking out a Patent on being an Asshole, then I'm going
after Eolas and all these other jokers for infringement. Ask anyone I
know, I'll get the patent.

I wonder if one can get a patent on "Lawsuit as Business Model". Then we
could really stick it to some people.

On Fri, 2003-10-24 at 15:38, Kevin Marino wrote:
> Matt, 
> 
> 
> Agree. as developers purely technical situations as this are a
> nuisance for
> sure, but the patents you need to be outraged about center on business
> methods. Its these patents that make it almost impossible to say for
> example, build an ecommerce site.  I can pretty much bet anybody on
> this
> list who has built an ecommerce site has for most intents and purposes
> probably infringed on a patent. 
> 
> 
> So instead of being outraged because you have to add a few lines of
> code to
> work around a patent to make your project accessible to the majority
> of your
> customer base, you should take up the grievance with the patent office
> and
> government when they allow business method patents and other far more
> damaging patents.
> 
> 
> That's my 2 cents, hope this thread ends soon (filling my mail box up,
> gonna
> have to start a new folder for this thread alone  hehe )
> 
> 
> 
> -Kevin Marino
> --
> Webmaster - HealthObjects
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 410 895 0377  
> 
> -----Original Message-
> From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 3:17 PM
> To: CF-Talk
> Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)
> 
> > But Eolas is still only suing MS and that is precisely my issue with
> > him. I don't think he has any intentions of suing Apple and AOL.
> Which
> > in my book are still pretty big fish. They have openly said they are
> > trying to 'balance the internet browser war'. (ie. We're only going
> to
> > sue MS)
> >
> I don't know how many times I have to repeat myself. It is standard 
> practice to sue the biggest fish first and then to handle the rest 
> after that case is finished. This a legal strategy used in all 
> industries. Further, this strategy has the additional business benefit
> of reducing overall legal expenses as the other companies will 
> generally settle if the first lawsuit is won. Eolas's decision to 
> pursue only Microsoft at this point is common and expected behavior.
> 
> All of the reasons people keeping pointing out that make Eolas a bad 
> company in their eyes can be applied to most of the top companies in 
> existence. IMHO, web developers only seem to care about this
> particular 
> patent issue because it affects them directly. Where is the outcry for
> all the other stupid patents and the companies behind them?
> 
> Matt Liotta
> President & CEO
> Montara Software, Inc.
> http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
> (888) 408-0900 x901
> 
>   _  
> 
> 
> 
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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread John Quarto-vonTivadar
It's been my experience that the patent system operates much like the old
adage about:

"The definition of a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged"
and
"The definition of a liberal is a conservative who's been arrested"

Regular people, particularly programmers it seems, love the idea of
everything being free and open, up until the time when it is *their*
intellectual property which is being absconded. As the holder of several
patents, I can attest to how my mindset changed once the first was issued :)
Unfortunately, the average person on the street does not have enough
knowledge to understand how a derivative patent can be issued and it often
looks flippant or random when all the info is not present. Even having been
through the experience of getting one, I *know* I don't understand how the
nuances of patent law works -- so I'm pretty confident that anyone who
doesn't have a patent law degree probably has nothing but opinion to
contribute to the Eolas/MS discussion.

I think it says a lot about how techies are often just out of the business
loop in thinking that IP is a secondary topic. In an era based on
information and what one knows, IP is the *only* currency that holds true
value, and things are simply not as simple as "well Newton invented gravity
so we all owe him a dime each time we drop a hammer". It is the application
of an idea to a new process altogether that makes derivative patents
worthwhile and worth protecting, even if it takes a patent-attorney to
understand the difference.

also someone had said:
"Additionally, I believe that patent enforcement should not be allowed to be
selective."

That's just awful. Patents are about property. If I own a pool why should I
not be allowed to let whoever I wish swim in it? If you have a guest room at
your home, do I have the right to just walk in and use it on any given
night? If you take away fundamental property rights you dissolve any meaning
to achievement.

I'll close on a funny note. I remember an old All In The Family episode
where Archie Bunker says "think about this: equality is unfair!"  "What?!?",
says Mike (the Meathead). Archie responds "well what's the purpose of trying
to get ahead all your life if all you're gonna do is end up equal?"

Now that is humorous of course, but it underscores a similar issue here.
Equality is about equal opportunity, not about equal achievement. Patents --
properly issued, that is, but that's a different question -- protect people
who have achieved some intellectual creation which is otherwise not
protected from theft except by the patent. That is why patents are based on
process, not on concept.

- Original Message -----
From: "Calvin Ward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "CF-Talk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 2:37 PM
Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

> One can find both the system and the people who take advantage of the
system to be less than honorable. And that opinion has no need to be
influenced by the ethical level of target of the dishonorable behavior.
>
> It is my fervent hope that Eolas not only loses, but has to pay
Microsoft's legal fees and additional damages to cover research for
alternative solutions to an issue that shouldn't exist.
>
> Additionally, I believe that patent enforcement should not be allowed to
be selective.
>
> - Calvin
>   - Original Message -
>   From: Matt Liotta
>   To: CF-Talk
>   Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 1:52 PM
>   Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)
>
>
>   > Since there's nothing we can do about it, we just have to use the
>   > workaround and hope that Eolas goes belly up.
>   >
>   Alternatively, you could get mad at the patent system instead and work
>   to change that instead of wasting time on the latest company exploiting
>   it.
>
>   Matt Liotta
>   President & CEO
>   Montara Software, Inc.
>   http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
>   (888) 408-0900 x901
>
>
> 
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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news), beat the horse dead

2003-10-24 Thread Kevin Marino
Matt, 

 
Agree. as developers purely technical situations as this are a nuisance for
sure, but the patents you need to be outraged about center on business
methods. Its these patents that make it almost impossible to say for
example, build an ecommerce site.  I can pretty much bet anybody on this
list who has built an ecommerce site has for most intents and purposes
probably infringed on a patent. 

 
So instead of being outraged because you have to add a few lines of code to
work around a patent to make your project accessible to the majority of your
customer base, you should take up the grievance with the patent office and
government when they allow business method patents and other far more
damaging patents.

 
That's my 2 cents, hope this thread ends soon (filling my mail box up, gonna
have to start a new folder for this thread alone  hehe )



-Kevin Marino
--
Webmaster - HealthObjects
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
410 895 0377  

-Original Message-
From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 3:17 PM
To: CF-Talk
Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

> But Eolas is still only suing MS and that is precisely my issue with
> him. I don't think he has any intentions of suing Apple and AOL. Which
> in my book are still pretty big fish. They have openly said they are
> trying to 'balance the internet browser war'. (ie. We're only going to
> sue MS)
>
I don't know how many times I have to repeat myself. It is standard 
practice to sue the biggest fish first and then to handle the rest 
after that case is finished. This a legal strategy used in all 
industries. Further, this strategy has the additional business benefit 
of reducing overall legal expenses as the other companies will 
generally settle if the first lawsuit is won. Eolas's decision to 
pursue only Microsoft at this point is common and expected behavior.

All of the reasons people keeping pointing out that make Eolas a bad 
company in their eyes can be applied to most of the top companies in 
existence. IMHO, web developers only seem to care about this particular 
patent issue because it affects them directly. Where is the outcry for 
all the other stupid patents and the companies behind them?

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

  _  


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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Matt Liotta
> But Eolas is still only suing MS and that is precisely my issue with
> him. I don't think he has any intentions of suing Apple and AOL. Which
> in my book are still pretty big fish. They have openly said they are
> trying to 'balance the internet browser war'. (ie. We're only going to
> sue MS)
>
I don't know how many times I have to repeat myself. It is standard 
practice to sue the biggest fish first and then to handle the rest 
after that case is finished. This a legal strategy used in all 
industries. Further, this strategy has the additional business benefit 
of reducing overall legal expenses as the other companies will 
generally settle if the first lawsuit is won. Eolas's decision to 
pursue only Microsoft at this point is common and expected behavior.

All of the reasons people keeping pointing out that make Eolas a bad 
company in their eyes can be applied to most of the top companies in 
existence. IMHO, web developers only seem to care about this particular 
patent issue because it affects them directly. Where is the outcry for 
all the other stupid patents and the companies behind them?

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Adam Wayne Lehman
Matt,

 
I definitely agree that the patent system has issue. Personally I don't
think it's fair to own a patent on concepts. It just doesn't make sense.
I didn't agree that Adobe should be allowed to own the 'toolbar' and I
definitely don't think multimedia on a website is worthy of patent.  So
yeah, I agree he never should have been allowed to patent such a thing,
but at the time the patent office was probably not the technologically
savvy enough to realize how retarded this patent is. I think US patent
laws need to be reformed for software.

 
But Eolas is still only suing MS and that is precisely my issue with
him. I don't think he has any intentions of suing Apple and AOL. Which
in my book are still pretty big fish. They have openly said they are
trying to 'balance the internet browser war'. (ie. We're only going to
sue MS)

 
Eolas _did_ offer to sell MS rights, but I have to side with MS's
philosophy on this one. I wouldn't pay close to a billion dollars just
so IE users can be saved a single click. It's just not cost effective.

Adam Wayne Lehman
Web Systems Developer
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Distance Education Division

 
-Original Message-
From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 1:52 PM
To: CF-Talk
Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

 
> Since there's nothing we can do about it, we just have to use the
> workaround and hope that Eolas goes belly up.
>
Alternatively, you could get mad at the patent system instead and work 
to change that instead of wasting time on the latest company exploiting 
it.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

  _  


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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Jaye Morris - jayeZERO.com
There are some things which are so fundemental that a society (and this
is definately a society) that the enforcement of a patent is harmful and
wrong. On another note, I believe that it was UCLA (probably some
students) that actually thought of it.  Doesn't UCLA receive State and
Federal funds?  You don't see Tim Berners-Lee sending out lawyers to
companies that have networks saying "Hey that was our idea, now give me
some money."    This alone is a great eye-opener and worth a read.

 
http://the-future-of-ideas.com/

 
P.S. I am certainly glad that Eddie Van Halen did not patent the
"Hammer-On"  I would have empty pockets.

// Jaye Morris | Multimedia Applications Developer
//  [EMAIL PROTECTED] | www.navtrak.net  

 
++
+   Navtrak, Inc. | StreetSuite | New Rules For The Road +
++

-Original Message-
From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 12:49 PM
To: CF-Talk
Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

> If this was about "protecting intellectual property" all of the
browser
> vendors would be in the same boat, however they're not. Microsoft was
> targeted because they have the deepest pockets and the lion's share of
> the browser market.
>
Again, Eolas is following the standard patent litigation strategy used 
across this industry and many others. People should remember that 
Microsoft is poster child of unethical business practices when they 
cheer them on.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

  _  


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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Calvin Ward
One can find both the system and the people who take advantage of the system to be less than honorable. And that opinion has no need to be influenced by the ethical level of target of the dishonorable behavior.

It is my fervent hope that Eolas not only loses, but has to pay Microsoft's legal fees and additional damages to cover research for alternative solutions to an issue that shouldn't exist.

Additionally, I believe that patent enforcement should not be allowed to be selective.

- Calvin
  - Original Message - 
  From: Matt Liotta 
  To: CF-Talk 
  Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 1:52 PM
  Subject: Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

  > Since there's nothing we can do about it, we just have to use the
  > workaround and hope that Eolas goes belly up.
  >
  Alternatively, you could get mad at the patent system instead and work 
  to change that instead of wasting time on the latest company exploiting 
  it.

  Matt Liotta
  President & CEO
  Montara Software, Inc.
  http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
  (888) 408-0900 x901


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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Matt Liotta
> Since there's nothing we can do about it, we just have to use the
> workaround and hope that Eolas goes belly up.
>
Alternatively, you could get mad at the patent system instead and work 
to change that instead of wasting time on the latest company exploiting 
it.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Thane Sherrington
At 12:22 PM 10/24/03 -0400, Matt Liotta wrote:
>It is standard practice to sue the big fish first before suing any
>other infringers. Again, Eolas is currently playing fair. Whether or
>not we like, they did get the patent and are allowed to enforce it.

I don't think that being an ass has anything to do with whether what you 
are doing is legal or not.  The RCMP can fine you for going 1 km over the 
speed limit.  That's legal without question.  But it's generally considered 
mean.  I would consider that officer an ass, because there's a difference 
between simply being a jerk, the legality of the action.  In this case, we 
have something has been done in a specific way for years.  Then a company 
buys the patent to this method and announces that they want money for 
it.  Sure that's legal, but it's also sleazy, IMO.

Since there's nothing we can do about it, we just have to use the 
workaround and hope that Eolas goes belly up.

T

Tired of your bookmarks/favourites being limited to one computer?  Move 
them to the Net!
www.stuffbythane.com/webfavourites makes it easy to keep all your 
favourites in one place and
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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Jochem van Dieten
Dave Watts wrote:
> 
> Common business practices are often considered unethical (especially by
> people who don't benefit from those practices); what people are allowed to
> do by law is not necessarily the same as what they should do.
> 
> Eolas doesn't actually produce anything. To the best of my knowledge, they
> didn't ever implement their idea, they just thought it up and rushed to the
> patent office with it.

IIRC they bought it from the University of California.

>>They have offered to license their patent to Microsoft, so 
>>they are certainly playing fair.
> 
> I was under the impression that they did not offer to license their patent
> to Microsoft. I agree that they are "playing fair" in the sense that their
> actions are legal, and maximize shareholder benefits, but they will
> certainly have a negative effect on lots of third parties who have done them
> no harm.

I am sure a Eolas lawyer would rephrase that as: Who have 
profited from Eolas intellectual property without compensation.

Jochem


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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Matt Liotta
> If this was about "protecting intellectual property" all of the browser
> vendors would be in the same boat, however they're not. Microsoft was
> targeted because they have the deepest pockets and the lion's share of
> the browser market.
>
Again, Eolas is following the standard patent litigation strategy used 
across this industry and many others. People should remember that 
Microsoft is poster child of unethical business practices when they 
cheer them on.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Matt Liotta
> Common business practices are often considered unethical (especially by
> people who don't benefit from those practices); what people are 
> allowed to
> do by law is not necessarily the same as what they should do.
>
While that may be true, it would seem to me then that it is actually 
the law that is considered unethical and not the company. The truth is 
that common business practices are just that; common. It is just that 
people only seem to get upset when one of those companies does 
something common that affects them.

> Eolas doesn't actually produce anything. To the best of my knowledge, 
> they
> didn't ever implement their idea, they just thought it up and rushed 
> to the
> patent office with it. While this is perfectly legal, it strikes me 
> that
> this behavior could be interpreted as parasitic, to say the least. I 
> can
> certainly understand why so many people oppose software patents.
>
Is it then okay for a company that produces a product to patent other 
ideas they never implement? Because the practice of patenting ideas 
without implementing them into a product is quite common. I would even 
say that most companies engage in this practice, which by your logic 
would mean that most companies could be interpreted as parasitic.

> I was under the impression that they did not offer to license their 
> patent
> to Microsoft. I agree that they are "playing fair" in the sense that 
> their
> actions are legal, and maximize shareholder benefits, but they will
> certainly have a negative effect on lots of third parties who have 
> done them
> no harm.
>
Eolas has offered Microsoft a license. Beware of Microsoft FUD! In 
regard to harming 3rd parties with legal actions, such is life. Most 
legal actions entered into for economic benefit harm 3rd parties.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Jochem van Dieten
Joshua Miller wrote:
> 
> If this was about "protecting intellectual property" all of the browser
> vendors would be in the same boat, however they're not.

It is not and it was never about protecting intellectual 
property. It is about the exploitation of intellectual property 
to earn money.

> Microsoft was
> targeted because they have the deepest pockets and the lion's share of
> the browser market. 

So if you can get them convicted throughout all appeals, the rest 
will not resist too much. Why do you think everybody always goes 
after Amazon, eBay, Google etc? Because they are market leaders 
with deep pockets to pay defence lawyers. So if they can't win in 
court, the small fry won't even try.

> I personally appreciate the fact that Microsoft is not going to license
> the technology

I don't really care if they are going to license the technology 
or not, but continuing to sell products with that technology 
without licensing that technology does raise the stakes.

Jochem


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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Joshua Miller
Ding, ding, ding! There's the correct answer!

If this was about "protecting intellectual property" all of the browser
vendors would be in the same boat, however they're not. Microsoft was
targeted because they have the deepest pockets and the lion's share of
the browser market. 

I personally appreciate the fact that Microsoft is not going to license
the technology and I will help by taking steps to modify my code to see
to it that Eolas receives as little money as possible for this.

Eolas basically cut off the little toe of the plugin world, but we will
all adapt and be running fast as ever in no time. 

On Fri, 2003-10-24 at 12:07, Adam Wayne Lehman wrote:
> Matt,
> 
> 
> If he was suing Netscape & Apple I'd think differently. However he's
> only targeting MS.
> 
> 
> Adam Wayne Lehman
> Web Systems Developer
> Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
> Distance Education Division
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 11:38 AM
> To: CF-Talk
> Subject: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)
> 
> 
> > I still think Eolas is an ass.
> >
> This is now off topic, but I find it interesting that people consider 
> Eolas to some how be evil when every other software company has
> patents 
> they enforce too. What specifically is your problem with Eolas? They 
> have offered to license their patent to Microsoft, so they are 
> certainly playing fair.
> 
> Matt Liotta
> President & CEO
> Montara Software, Inc.
> http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
> (888) 408-0900 x901
> 
>   _  
> 
> 
> 
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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Matt Liotta
> If he was suing Netscape & Apple I'd think differently. However he's
> only targeting MS.
>
It is standard practice to sue the big fish first before suing any 
other infringers. Again, Eolas is currently playing fair. Whether or 
not we like, they did get the patent and are allowed to enforce it.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Dave Watts
> This is now off topic, but I find it interesting that people 
> consider Eolas to some how be evil when every other software 
> company has patents they enforce too. What specifically is 
> your problem with Eolas? 

Common business practices are often considered unethical (especially by
people who don't benefit from those practices); what people are allowed to
do by law is not necessarily the same as what they should do.

Eolas doesn't actually produce anything. To the best of my knowledge, they
didn't ever implement their idea, they just thought it up and rushed to the
patent office with it. While this is perfectly legal, it strikes me that
this behavior could be interpreted as parasitic, to say the least. I can
certainly understand why so many people oppose software patents.

> They have offered to license their patent to Microsoft, so 
> they are certainly playing fair.

I was under the impression that they did not offer to license their patent
to Microsoft. I agree that they are "playing fair" in the sense that their
actions are legal, and maximize shareholder benefits, but they will
certainly have a negative effect on lots of third parties who have done them
no harm.

Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software
http://www.figleaf.com/
voice: (202) 797-5496
fax: (202) 797-5444

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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Adam Wayne Lehman
Matt,

 
If he was suing Netscape & Apple I'd think differently. However he's
only targeting MS.

 
Adam Wayne Lehman
Web Systems Developer
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Distance Education Division

 
-Original Message-
From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 11:38 AM
To: CF-Talk
Subject: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

 
> I still think Eolas is an ass.
>
This is now off topic, but I find it interesting that people consider 
Eolas to some how be evil when every other software company has patents 
they enforce too. What specifically is your problem with Eolas? They 
have offered to license their patent to Microsoft, so they are 
certainly playing fair.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

  _  


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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Matt Liotta
> If they were only concerned with their IP rights, they'd have sued 
> years ago,
> and would currently be sueing more than just Microsoft.
> As it is, it looks to me like a money grab.
>
Which is just plain good business currently. If you don't like it, talk 
to your representative about changing the laws. Remember, businesses 
exist to make money; they have no other purpose.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Eric Creese
what an analogy... it is Friday. You win best email of the day.

-Original Message-
From: Tony Weeg [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 10:42 AM
To: CF-Talk
Subject: RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

I think the problem is that we have all gone down a road, so far so long,
and now they have dipped their finger in a still pool, one that we all loved
to swim in, cause we thought we were swimming the right way, now we have to
switch gears and adapt practices and methods that have been ingrained in our
methodologies for quite some time now.  had this happened 8 years ago or so,
probably wouldn't be that big of a deal...

like when a man marries a woman, and then 10 years later he decides to tell
her he is gay, its just effed up.

that's all.

...tony

tony weeg
senior web applications architect
navtrak, inc.
www.navtrak.net
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
410.548.2337

-Original Message-
From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 11:38 AM
To: CF-Talk
Subject: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

> I still think Eolas is an ass.
>
This is now off topic, but I find it interesting that people consider Eolas
to some how be evil when every other software company has patents they
enforce too. What specifically is your problem with Eolas? They have offered
to license their patent to Microsoft, so they are certainly playing fair.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901

  _  


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Re: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Thomas Chiverton
On Friday 24 Oct 2003 16:38 pm, Matt Liotta wrote:
> certainly playing fair.

If they were only concerned with their IP rights, they'd have sued years ago, 
and would currently be sueing more than just Microsoft.
As it is, it looks to me like a money grab.

-- 
Tom Chiverton 
Advanced ColdFusion Programmer

Tel: +44(0)1749 834997
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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread d.a.collie
hahahahahahahahahaaa... like the analogy!

	-Original Message-
	From: Tony Weeg [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
	Sent: 24 October 2003 16:42
	To: CF-Talk
	Subject: RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)
	
	
	I think the problem is that we have all gone down a road, so far
so long,
	and now they have dipped their finger in a still pool, one that
we all loved
	to swim in, cause we thought we were swimming the right way, now
we have to
	switch gears and adapt practices and methods that have been
ingrained in our
	methodologies for quite some time now.  had this happened 8
years ago or so,
	probably wouldn't be that big of a deal...
	
	like when a man marries a woman, and then 10 years later he
decides to tell
	her he is gay, its just effed up.
	
	that's all.
	
	...tony
	
	tony weeg
	senior web applications architect
	navtrak, inc.
	www.navtrak.net
	[EMAIL PROTECTED]
	410.548.2337
	
	-Original Message-
	From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
	Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 11:38 AM
	To: CF-Talk
	Subject: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)
	
	> I still think Eolas is an ass.
	>
	This is now off topic, but I find it interesting that people
consider Eolas
	to some how be evil when every other software company has
patents they
	enforce too. What specifically is your problem with Eolas? They
have offered
	to license their patent to Microsoft, so they are certainly
playing fair.
	
	Matt Liotta
	President & CEO
	Montara Software, Inc.
	http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
	(888) 408-0900 x901
	
	
  _  

	
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RE: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

2003-10-24 Thread Tony Weeg
I think the problem is that we have all gone down a road, so far so long,
and now they have dipped their finger in a still pool, one that we all loved
to swim in, cause we thought we were swimming the right way, now we have to
switch gears and adapt practices and methods that have been ingrained in our
methodologies for quite some time now.  had this happened 8 years ago or so,
probably wouldn't be that big of a deal...

like when a man marries a woman, and then 10 years later he decides to tell
her he is gay, its just effed up.

that's all.

...tony

tony weeg
senior web applications architect
navtrak, inc.
www.navtrak.net
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
410.548.2337

-Original Message-
From: Matt Liotta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 11:38 AM
To: CF-Talk
Subject: OT (was Re: Macromedia sinks on sales news)

> I still think Eolas is an ass.
>
This is now off topic, but I find it interesting that people consider Eolas
to some how be evil when every other software company has patents they
enforce too. What specifically is your problem with Eolas? They have offered
to license their patent to Microsoft, so they are certainly playing fair.

Matt Liotta
President & CEO
Montara Software, Inc.
http://www.MontaraSoftware.com
(888) 408-0900 x901


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