In reply to Jed Rothwell's message of Tue, 22 Feb 2005 18:34:20 -0500: Hi, [snip] >Robin van Spaandonk wrote: > >>Not at all, and that isn't what I said. This technology is conservatively >>worth trillions. JB suggested that it be taken by the government, and >>Mills be paid what it's worth. I am simply pointing out that no one has >>ever paid trillions for a technology. When the amount gets that high, the >>technology is simply stolen, the theft swept under the rug, and obscured >>by legal niceties. > >I disagree. [snip] >Airplanes are another major technology that was patented. The first patent >held up, and so did subsequent patents filed by others. In 1917, to promote >wartime production, the government stepped in and forced all patent holders >to accept a standard fee, so that any manufacturer could get free access to >the technology. I imagine something similar would happen with the Mills device.
...and how does that differ from "When the amount gets that high, the technology is simply stolen, the theft swept under the rug, and obscured by legal niceties." ? In this case, the theft is in the word "forced" and the legal niceties being "accept a standard fee". What it boils down to, is that when the need is great, society simply takes what it wants. I can see the same thing happening as a consequence of global warming. [snip] Regards, Robin van Spaandonk All SPAM goes in the trash unread.
