>>>>> "Stephen" == Stephen Pair <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Stephen> Kendall,
>> I'll let Bijan say more about this, as I've talked with him
>> about it many times. I just want to say that Dave Winer is a
>> *master* of ignoring what is called in the patent context
>> 'prior art,' which WikiWikis certainly are.
Stephen> Are you suggesting that they hold patents relating Wiki
Stephen> like concepts? If so, this would be an area of concern
Stephen> for us at Swiki.net. The new rules on software patents
Stephen> makes my stomach churn.
I agree about stomach churning, but that's not what I'm suggesting.
Winer has made noises about seeking patents, and it sounded like he
meant for his editthispage.com 'technology'.
My point was that *if* he does this, WikiWikis are, in my view,
overwhelmingly 'prior art'; however, this doesn't usually stop the
USTPO. So you'd have to handicap his patent application success at
50-50. Unless, of course, Ward Cunningham or other WikiWiki or Swiki
gurus got wind of it and were able to file the relevant counter-claims
(though I'm not sure how that works, if it's even possible).
My point was that *in a patent context* WikiWiki seems obviously a
prior art for Winer's editthispage.com stuff. I don't know if Winer
has sought or is seeking patents, but he has recently made noises in
that direction.
Is that more clear?
Best,
Kendall Clark
