How about this for gall?

[Apostle 83]

Why is that gall? There have been y2k awareness committees since the sixties! So since corporations were to stupid to fix the probs until a few years before (and some are still pushing it), and a man patents something, he has gall? Lemme tell ya, if that is gall, I want it! Free enterprise rules!!!!!!

[steves]

Hang on how did this guy manage to patent something that was in common usage before 1980, when he applied for the patent in 1996.

Mr Gates was using this method in MS-DOS 2.0 (any year less than 80 was assumed to be >2000). Actually thinking about it, it was probably in the original PC BIOS code. Remember when IBM used to provide a BIOS listing at the back of the technical manuals. Is it 1960 or 70 that Unix uses as it's base.

Only the yanks could let someone patent common sense!

P.S I'm British (sorry English)

Steve

[bobcat]

A patent doesn't work on who gets it first but on who can prove that they had the idea first and documentation to prove the time frame that you came up with the invention. There is no doubt this guy is not original. The real question is, fight in court or roll over and pay him off.

[stylin19]

Microsoft could help everybody out by suing this guy http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Roraycr]

Who says you can't patent anything? This is ridiculous!! So be careful, your next line of code may already be patented!!
http://www.msnbc.com/news/333372.asp#BODY

[This message has been edited by Roraycr (edited 12-14-1999).]

[U-96]

I have just patented the pastrami, dill pickle and mayo sandwich.

You all owe me $47.56 for your estimated usage of this knowledge.

I've also patented chromosome 14, subset 6631A. Every time you use your eyes, you must pay U-96 Inc. a royalty of $0.01, or 10% of profit gained from that usage, whichever is the larger.

In my opinion it's kind of like Britain asking the USA for compensation for land taken.

U-96

[welsh wizard]

Shssss U 96 some in UK gov may read that and think it's a good idea http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif
WW

[U-96]

http://www.patents.ibm.com/cgi-bin/viewpat.cmd/US05443036__

too funny...
Patent for "pissing off your cat with a laser pointer"


[This message has been edited by U-96 (edited 12-15-1999).]

[pickel]

Then the brits will have to pay the American
natives for ripping off their lands, they were here first, don't ya remember?

the pickel

[This message has been edited by pickel (edited 12-15-1999).]

[U-96]

We may have stitched up the first 13 states, but someone else did the other 37 http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

Please don't interpret my previous post as a personal opinion... it was merely analogy.

Fair enough to apportion blame for New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, India, slavery and concentration camps though. All great countries have dark parts of their own history that one should be not be proud of, and you are right to point that out. Some people are just more willing to discuss them than others.

U-96