> 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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