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Tim Cook wrote:
> Here's a bit of grey area:
There are lots of grey areas. What about a dedicated machine that performs a
function which, because of later developments, can now be computerized.
Perhaps a clunky analog audio processing device replaced nowadays with a
DSP? Does that mean the DSP isn't infringing on the patent? Does that mean
the original device should never have been patentable?
What if you take an algorithm and describe it with rod logic, like a babbage
computing engine? Is it patentable? Does it make software implementations
infringing? Does it make sense to say doing something with atoms is
patentable but doing something with electrons isn't?
Take a dedicated word-processing machine, like those old typewriters. Does
that mean a modern software-only implementation would infringe? Or not? Or
does it mean that the original machine should never have passed patent in
the first place?
And, of course, realize that patents are lists of instructions, so
technically, if you're saying you can't infringe with a device following a
list of arbitrary instructions, then feeding the plans described by a patent
into a computer to manufacture the device so described should not be
patentable. If you can't patent following instructions with by a general
purpose computer, then you can't patent anything a general purpose computer
can create, including one hooked up to a manufacturing machine capable of
manufacturing patented devices.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Is God willing to prevent naglams, but unable?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing, to prevent naglams?
Then he is malevolent.
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