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From: jpm@calmasd.UUCP (John McNally)
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Apple patents
Message-ID: <592@calmasd.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 21-Oct-85 12:18:23 EDT
Article-I.D.: calmasd.592
Posted: Mon Oct 21 12:18:23 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Oct-85 01:41:36 EDT
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Organization: Calma Company, San Diego, CA
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> Even if someone had mentioned patents, I rather doubt that this could be the
> case.  I believe that only one or two programs have ever been successfully
> patented.  The reason being that patents only apply to physical devices.
> Whereas a program is an algorithm or an idea and as such is not patentable.
> The counter-argument to this (an it is a legal looser) is that a program
> constructs a new, virtual machine and it is this virtual machine which is
> then patentable.
> 
> You cannot patent an idea.  If you could, discovers of new laws of nature could
> then patent the law and prevent others from using it.
>   ...Larry Mazlack

I too, had the same opinion on patents until I checked into it a
little further.  The situation is just not as simple as " its got
to be a physical device" or "you cannot patent an idea."  As I
understand it, Apple has a patent on the pull-down menu concept.
For intersting discussions, cross-reference to net.graphics and
net.crypt:

1.  In net.graphics there has been a recent discussion of a patent
(with its number and description) on the use of exclusive-or for
drawing cursors and rubber-band lines!  The holder of the patent
gets money by making it more attractive to "infringers" to pay a
license than to go to court.

2.  In net.crypt there has been a recent discussion of a patent
for the RSA public-key cryptosystem.  This patent is based upon
the use of the intractability of prime factoring in a novel way -
to produce an encryption/decryption key!  MIT holds the patent and
has licensed it to RSA Cryptosystems.

In neither case is software itself involved (apparently).  In each
case it is an idea that has been patented.  I am not a patent
lawyer (and as far as I can tell, neither is anyone on the net
that has responded to these various discussions).  The field of
patent law has become very complex since the days when a physical
model was required with a patent application.  Laymen are not
qualified to decide what is patentable and what is not, anymore
than laymen are qualified to determine the legalities of other
civil suits.  The viability of a patent is dependent upon all
kinds of non-technical factors like precedents, how much money you
have to go to court, and how good your patent law staff is.
I think this is unfortunate, but not suprising in a
country where litigation is a way of life.

I offer the following posting (by Sandy Ressler, NBS, from
net.graphics) as a good summary:
____________________________________________________________________
As I understand the patent process, partly from a patent attorney friend
of mine:  The real trick in getting a patent is to have your claims
extend the prior art but not duplicate some previous patent.  The
novelty or usefullness of the idea is pretty subjective.  A good patent
lawyer will write the patent in a way which claims something which is
not quite present in the previous patents.  

Also getting a patent is the start of a process whereby you the inventor 
would have a basis for a court case against some infringer. 
It is the court case which would determine the real value of the patent.
Many patents are issued and then defeated in court.  It is up to the
patent holder to pursue alleded infringers, otherwise the patent is
simply a piece of paper which says that some patent examiner thinks this
idea/process/thing should get a patent.
__________________________________________________________________
-- 
John McNally  GE/Calma  11080 Roselle St. San Diego CA 92121
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