Re: A reply on the RTLinux discussion.

["Peter Wächtler" <pwaechtler@loewe-komp.de>]

Jeff V. Merkey wrote:
> 
> I've been reading all this discussion, and I think the solution
> is pretty simple.  Patents are fairly easy to invalidate if you
> can show prior art.  Novell and these big software companies 
> do it all the time.  When they implement something that infringes
> someone's patent, they wait until litigation is filed, then seek to
> invalidate specific claims in the patent.  There are administrative
> procedures in place wih the USPTO that take this into account.  It's
> expensive and you have to be willing to risk litigation.
> 

Yes, exactly. Look at http://www.bountyquest.com

A patent gives the owner of the patent the right to _deny_ anybody
to use this "invention" (17 years when granted).

History has proved that inventions where done independantly in
different countries at almost the same time.

With software patents the chance that two programmers code something
up almost exactly the same way grows _rapidly_.

I don't like the fact, that somebody can deny me the use of my
own ideas. The whole idea of helping innovations with patents
is outdated.