[vox] On the patent topic...

[Bill Kendrick]

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/08/17/0437242/Why-Software-Patents-Are-a-Joke-mdash-Literally

"A former Sun/Oracle employee explains how developers created patents
in an unofficial contest to see who could get the goofiest patent
through the system. James Gosling said, '... we got sued, and
lost. The penalty was huge. Nearly put us out of business. We
survived, but to help protect us from future suits we went on a
patenting binge. Even though we had a basic distaste for patents, the
game is what it is, and patents are essential in modern corporations,
if only as a defensive measure. There was even an unofficial
competition to see who could get the goofiest patent through the
system. My entry wasn't nearly the goofiest.' Now Oracle is using
patents from the same folks as the basis for its lawsuit against
Google."


Enjoy :)

-- 
-bill!
Sent from my computer