Messages in this thread |  | | From | Marty Fouts <> | Subject | RE: Tux2 - evil patents sighted | Date | Mon, 2 Oct 2000 21:54:27 -0700 |
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IANAL
That said, I would refer anyone interested in 'prior art' in patents to http://www.ipmall.fplc.edu/ipcorner/bp98/welch.htm especially the brief discussion on what 'prior art' is to the patent office. Also, for those who believe that similar concepts will void patents, I would suggest a search of the IP literature on the topic of 'narrowly defined.'
As to whether or not Network Appliance's patents would hold up in court, I offer two contradictory opinions:
Factoid: 90% of all patents are never challenged, while 80% of those that are are overturned.
and
"Going into court is throwing the dice."
I will defer discussion of the 'evil' of patent law to some more appropriate forum.
Marty - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
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