On Thu, 14 Oct 1999 18:33:47 +0000, juan wrote:
>So you *think* there should be ONE spreadsheet, ONE word processor and ONE OS,
>isn t it ?
>Are you a microsoft *programmer* ?
Where in the WORLD do YOU get off YELLING AT ME!!!
Where in my entire document did I EVERY SAY THAT I **AGREED** with what I
wrote? I wasn't writing an OPINION PIECE, I WAS WRITING FACTS!!! I merely
stated what the LAW is, not what I THOUGHT AOBUT THE LAW.
You said that you thought that US patent law was similar to Spanish patent
law in that only physical, material items were patentable; purely
software-type patents aren't. I'm telling you that the US Patent and
Trademark Office will let you patent an IDEA, even one that does not exist
in reality WHATSOEVER. The LZW compression algorithm (used in GIF graphics)
is a perfect example of such a patent, and I described how that patent HAS
BEEN LEGALLY PROVED TO BE ENFORCED. I in no way said that I thought that
such a patent was APPROPRIATE.
Get your facts straight before you start making such attacks.
Tim Massey
