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>> Or, to put it another way...
>>
>> JPEG, MPEG, and MP3 are all patented. That doesn't stop you from using
>> DFT for other purposes.
But what if I use the DFT to compress an image, but in a slightly
different way to JPEG? Or if I compress the data in exactly the same
way, but format the output file slightly differently? And just how
different does it have to be?
> And (Hi Andrew!) CDMA is patented for cell phones, but maybe not for
> other processes. You could probably use CDMA to deliver cable TV without
> running into the same patents you would using it for cell phones.
Question: If CDMA is patented, how come cell phones exist?
> Now, another problem with "software" patents are that they're hard to
> research.
Well, there is that too.
> Then again, I heard of a very expensive patent case where basically
> backoff/retry was patented for a particular yet wide-spread purpose, and
> the patent was upheld. Which seems rather wrong to me, as it really was
> the obvious way to do it. I think they need a test like taking a random
> professional and asking "If you had to solve problem X, how would you
> solve it?" And if the person gives the solution in the patent, throw it
> out.
I wonder, how well do legal professionals actually understand computers?
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
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