Subject: Crazy patents

From: [email-masked] (Ron Currier - CONTRACTOR-PC NETWORKING)
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 92 14:02:07 EST

While the VPL patent sounds crazy, I know similar patents have been granted and
upheld in court. Wang Labs was issued one in the '70s for a case containing a
cpu, a keyboard, and a display device. I was there in the early '80s while Wang
successfully sued a Candian company over it. Sounds like all notebooks and laptops
violate the patent!

Of course, there is also the patent on LZW compression, and the supposed patents
on the XORed cursor and red error messages.

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Ron Currier  Consulting @ Sun - BOS  [email-masked]  508/671-0417
             Pentucket Software      ..uunet!wang!penware!currier   508/373-7815
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p.s. - Suppose I could patent a self-propelled wheeled conveyence controlled by
open-loop gesture devices (pedals and a wheel)?

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From: Dave Stampe-Psy+Eng <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 92 17:53:10 -0500

> From [email-masked] Fri Jan 24 14:50:06 1992
> From: [email-masked] (Ron Currier - CONTRACTOR-PC NETWORKING)
> To: [email-masked]
> Subject: Crazy patents
> 

Actually, this patent WAS granted back in the '20s.  It took 20 years to
defeat it, based on "prior art".  What we need is something like the
Sperry-Honeywell patent suit on the digital computer patents: I.E get
big money involved, and be prepared for a fight.  Or hope that VPL is
"generous" (fat chance).

- Dave Stampe