Lawsuits, Red Hat, yummy....

[Bill McGonigle]

On Oct 19, 2007, at 00:59, Greg Rundlett wrote:

> I'm just pointing out how ridiculously broken the system is,
> to the point where it doesn't even benefit the biggest and most
> powerful companies commensurate with the money and resources put into
> the system.  That you can patent a canister with a molded-in handle
> when there is a century of prior art, and it's a natural and obvious
> consequence of building canisters with plastic instead of metal is
> just one example.

Ah, yes, that one is the hardest nut to crack.

Sometimes it seems people get the patent for asking the question that  
nobody ever thought to ask before.  Once you come up with the  
question, the answer is often trivial.

Having people taking the time to ask these questions is certainly  
useful in promoting science and the useful arts - whether the patent  
is the right mechanism to reward this kind of activity, I'm not sure  
about.

-Bill

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