The point is, the USPTO probably allocated ONE person to research the prior art before granting the patent... there's no way that person could have uncovered everything out there.
When RSA and Netscape decided to challenge the patent, they probably spent millions to uncover prior art that would NOW make the patent invalid.
I agree.. I didn't read the whole patent.. but using XOR to highlight the position of a mouse sounds novel to me (IF it hasn't been done in 1980)... it doesn't matter if its 3 lines or 3million lines of code.
XOR itself is probably not patentable. Its like you cannot patent a simple fan nor a plain cap, but put them together and you've got a patentable product! (Yes yes, someone already patented it and the patent has already expired).
The reason why he donated all that money is that he couldn't POSSIBLY use all that money himself.. What's a 65 year old going to do with 1.5 Billion dollars (he only got insanely rich in the 90's - a few years before he died).
Yes, its FREE he doesn't make money. Well unless he's Bill Gates, he might not be able to keep it running forever!
Daewoo Cars are pretty cheap now, you know why? Because they're going under and you'll be left in a lurch in a couple of years when your transmission gives.
You shouldn't go with someone because its FREE. or Ad Free. You should go with someone because they'll be around.
Slashdot Mirror
Interestingly if this were implemented, Hotmail would see less spam BUT would need a lot more processing power to SEND e-mails!
I don't get it.. so why don't u just GPL it?? Save you the 10K of filing for the patent plus maintenance cost.
The point is, the USPTO probably allocated ONE person to research the prior art before granting the patent... there's no way that person could have uncovered everything out there.
When RSA and Netscape decided to challenge the patent, they probably spent millions to uncover prior art that would NOW make the patent invalid.
Its not that straightforward.
I agree.. I didn't read the whole patent.. but using XOR to highlight the position of a mouse sounds novel to me (IF it hasn't been done in 1980)... it doesn't matter if its 3 lines or 3million lines of code. XOR itself is probably not patentable. Its like you cannot patent a simple fan nor a plain cap, but put them together and you've got a patentable product! (Yes yes, someone already patented it and the patent has already expired).
The reason why he donated all that money is that he couldn't POSSIBLY use all that money himself.. What's a 65 year old going to do with 1.5 Billion dollars (he only got insanely rich in the 90's - a few years before he died).
BOTH the previous posting crack me up! I was so upset after seeing this segment, but you two made my day. THANK YOU.
If you go to Ultramercial.com, you'd see a reference to "Patent Pending".
I can't quite imagine this concept being patentable.
Lets see..
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Yes, its FREE he doesn't make money. Well unless he's Bill Gates, he might not be able to keep it running forever! Daewoo Cars are pretty cheap now, you know why? Because they're going under and you'll be left in a lurch in a couple of years when your transmission gives. You shouldn't go with someone because its FREE. or Ad Free. You should go with someone because they'll be around.