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- From: mcgregor@netcom.com (Scott Mcgregor)
- Subject: Re: Patents: What they are. What they aren't. Other factors.
- Message-ID: <1992Nov12.081114.6316@netcom.com>
- Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
- References: <1992Nov5.163922.2616@zip.eecs.umich.edu> <1992Nov8.064806.27926@udel.edu> <id.FFUU.QCB@ferranti.com>
- Distribution: usa
- Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 08:11:14 GMT
- Lines: 27
-
- In article <id.FFUU.QCB@ferranti.com> peter@ferranti.com (peter da silva) writes:
-
- >Free or very cheap software (such as the software implementing the very
- >medium we're discussing this subject in) has been a driving force in the
- >computer industry. Does the patent office recognise this as "publication?"
-
- Unless the software is printed and in a library somewhere probably,
- no. However, it recognizes it as a product offered for sale or
- distribution, and that also counts as prior art if available to the
- general public. So it would still count against a patent.
-
- Note that if not widely known, such a situation is not likely to come
- to the attention of the PTO. So they might grant the patent in
- absence of their awareness of the prior art. But it would count for
- the defence in an infringement case.
-
-
- --
-
- Scott L. McGregor mcgregor@netcom.com
- President tel: 408-985-1824
- Prescient Software, Inc. fax: 408-985-1936
- 3494 Yuba Avenue
- San Jose, CA 95117-2967
-
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