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May
15th

Too Bad Cavemen didn’t have Patents!

Posted in Marketing, Technology by User ImageDouglas Karr at 7:16 pm

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Imagine what the world would be like if we had patents and attorneys from the beginning of time. If I were a caveman, I’d be the wealthiest caveman on Earth. I would have patented clothing, clubs, and fire.

How cool would that be? (Side benefit: If I saw a woman that I found attractive, I could sue her for wearing clothes.) I’d run the world, too, because I wouldn’t let anyone else license a club from me. I’d make a fortune on wheels, though.

Oh… and fire! Wow!

I’d own everything!

But alas, I’m no caveman and there were no patents or attorneys.

Too bad Microsoft has both.

Read about their upcoming patent war on Firefox and Linux here.

Is their goal simply to be despised? How can this possibly help them?

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4 Comments »

Comment by no imageSlaptijack (SezWho)
2007-05-16 13:05:04

It sounds to me like the viability of all software patents is coming under question sooner rather than later. Perhaps Microsoft wants to get something for it’s patents while it can?
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Comment by no imageDouglas Karr (SezWho)
2007-05-16 13:22:01

Linus Torvalds had a fantastic response to the accusations of Microsoft. Paraphrasing Mr. Torvalds, the only reason why Microsoft actually can sue Open Source is because the ’source is open’. Imagine how many patents Microsoft is violating if the opportunity to view their core code could be accomplished!
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Comment by no imageDouglas Karr (SezWho)
2007-05-16 13:47:14

Johnathon Schwartz, CEO of Sun, commented on his blog, paraphrased: great companies innovate… they don’t litigate.
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Comment by no imagemodifoo (SezWho)
2007-07-24 14:49:17

Pity that the video is no longer available.

Yeah, yeah. Copyright.

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