Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site cadovax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!zehntel!dual!vecpyr!amd!amdcad!decwrl!decvax!ittatc!dcdwest!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!trwrb!trwrba!cadovax!keithd From: keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle) Newsgroups: net.bio Subject: Re: Copy protected Genes Message-ID: <982@cadovax.UUCP> Date: Wed, 11-Dec-85 15:00:09 EST Article-I.D.: cadovax.982 Posted: Wed Dec 11 15:00:09 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 19-Dec-85 03:23:27 EST References: <970@cadovax.UUCP> <878@ecsvax.UUCP> Reply-To: keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle) Distribution: net Organization: CONTEL CADO Systems, Torrance, CA Lines: 65 >> >> In addition, Monsanto is witholding what it learns about new bio-engineering >> techniques as proprietary. > > Is this any different than what every other company does for its research? No, but there seems to be a trend in that more private institutions are doing the research and less public institutions (Universities etc.). We can all benifit from University research in that findings are published and reach the entire segment of an industry. This makes it easier for new companies to compete in the marketplace who may not have the immense budget of the few big guys. What I'm worried about is that Monsanto may become the IBM of the bio-engineering market such that no one can afford the R&D budget to compete with them, leaving Monsanto as GOD of the industry, and everyone else just follows behind fighting over the table scraps. Of course this implies that the problem is not with the way Monsanto does business, but perhaps the way the U.S. government is deciding to deal with the funding of University research etc. Or perhaps the way the U.S. government is apparently ignoring gross anti-trust infringements. > It seems to me that you are making a major distinction between research >on plants and other types of R&D. People and companies copyright and patent >all sorts of things. There are laws against copying integrated circuits, Yes this is true, the only reason I am making such a distinction, is that it has recently come to my attention that the stifling market techniques that (in my opinion) have gotten way out of hand in the computer industry (IBM) are also occuring in other industries. I guess I shouldn't have been terribly surprised. I just hate to see other big companies win their anti-trust suits, giving them an apparent green-light to go ahead and impose a monopolizing sort of effect on an entire industry. >contract law supports contracts which say that the user is not allowed to >dissassemble/decompile software, ... All of these are justified on the basis >that society will be better off by motivating developers/inventors/producers. >Why should plant breeders be treated differently? >> >> Keith Doyle > >--henry schaffer I'd just hate to see ALL plant breeders have to pay royalties to Monsanto (or someone) because Monsanto had the $$$ to develop a major new breakthrough first, especially if the new breakthrough is sufficiently 'tied-up' in patents and integrated so well into the market that no-one can compete that dosen't somehow utilize the new breakthrough in such a way that they have to pay royalties or risk patent-infringement. In the computer industry at least, IBM clone manufacturers DON'T have to pay royalties to IBM (at least not yet) but I could imagine that it could happen to some industry someday. This brings up another point. We all know about the AT&T breakup, but how 'out-of-line' does a company have to get these days to get into anti-trust trouble do you suppose? What kinds of actions are considered 'out-of-line'? Are there arguments for throwing out anti-trust legislation altogether, and/or arguments for stiffening it up more? Keith Doyle # {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!keithd # cadovax!keithd@ucla-locus.arpa P.S. I can't help it, I'm suspicious of big companies. Remember those rumors about gas companies buying up efficient alternative energy car designes so they could sit on them?