<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: RE: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds --> <!--X-From-R13: Qlaor eh Fnera <plaorNzhd.bet> --> <!--X-Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 14:29:57 -0700 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 199910141949.OAA07842#laurel,actlab.utexas.edu --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, RE: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:cynbe#muq,org"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00062.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00064.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00062.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00070.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00063">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00063">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00063">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>RE: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: RE: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Cynbe ru Taren <<A HREF="mailto:cynbe#muq,org">cynbe#muq,org</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 14:49:20 -0500</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu">mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> Bruce Mitchener wrote: > Can this list help to serve as an archive of prior art? Has anyone run into > problems of this nature yet? In the '80s, I participated in a legal fight to reverse a bogus trademark. The case was open-and-shut, the other side was conducted by a semi-senile fool with the unpaid help of a lawyer friend with no relevant expertise, they made about every legal mistake possible, we did everything about as cheaply and well as possible... ... and it still took nearly a decade and over $20,000 to win. Reversing a -patent- defended by a company with anything approximating sane, paid legal advice would be -much- harder, no matter how clear the prior art. This whole area is dominated by case law made by and for mega-corporations fighting their private duels: Considerations of public interest and such get -very- short shrift. So the practical question is less, "Do we have prior art to show," than "Do we have people willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (doing things -very- cheaply) and years out of their lives to contest this?" Barring a friendly billionaire who thinks fighting bogus software patents sounds like a neat sideline to get into, the answer is almost certainly going to be, "No." On the bright side, a lawsuit against an open source project for patent infringement is going to be expensive to win and unprofitable even when won: The target is legally diffuse and can easily legally relocate to a country with sane patent laws. My Muq server source is currently distributed only from the Netherlands. Seemed legally advisable. :) Cynbe _______________________________________________ MUD-Dev maillist - MUD-Dev#kanga,nu <A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev">http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev</A> </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00062.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00064.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The Relationship between pkers and monster AI?</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00062.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00070.html">[MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00063"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00063"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00055" HREF="msg00055.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The Best Guy on the Mud Thing</A></strong>, Greg Miller <a href="mailto:gmiller#classic-games,com">gmiller#classic-games,com</a>, Thu 14 Oct 1999, 18:07 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00045" HREF="msg00045.html">[MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></strong>, Bruce Mitchener, Jr. <a href="mailto:bruce#puremagic,com">bruce#puremagic,com</a>, Thu 14 Oct 1999, 18:07 GMT <UL> <li><Possible follow-up(s)><br> <LI><strong><A NAME="00061" HREF="msg00061.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></strong>, Sellers, Michael <a href="mailto:MSellers#maxis,com">MSellers#maxis,com</a>, Thu 14 Oct 1999, 19:24 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00062" HREF="msg00062.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></strong>, Mik Clarke <a href="mailto:mikclrk#attglobal,net">mikclrk#attglobal,net</a>, Thu 14 Oct 1999, 21:29 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00063" HREF="msg00063.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></strong>, Cynbe ru Taren <a href="mailto:cynbe#muq,org">cynbe#muq,org</a>, Thu 14 Oct 1999, 21:29 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00070" HREF="msg00070.html">[MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></strong>, Richard Bartle <a href="mailto:76703.3042#compuserve,com">76703.3042#compuserve,com</a>, Fri 15 Oct 1999, 17:32 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00072" HREF="msg00072.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></strong>, Joe Andrieu <a href="mailto:joe#andrieu,net">joe#andrieu,net</a>, Fri 15 Oct 1999, 19:20 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00076" HREF="msg00076.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></strong>, Scott Boding <a href="mailto:sboding#cybersource,com">sboding#cybersource,com</a>, Fri 15 Oct 1999, 20:39 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00082" HREF="msg00082.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] patents and muds</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Fri 15 Oct 1999, 22:51 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>