[Asrg] Email Postage (was Re: FeedBack loops)

[Steve Atkins]

On Nov 21, 2008, at 9:53 AM, der Mouse wrote:

>>> Goodmail CertifiedMail(TM) is [...]
>> Yes, and Goodmail is patented, which means that any open scheme that
>> has a similar effect would have to pass a patent challenge.
>
> Or, if - as seems likely - it is patented in only some jurisdictions,
> it can be used by the rest of the world freely, with jursidctions
> allowing it to be patented just having to live with the consequences  
> of
> their antisocial intellecual property actions.  (Yes, I believe that
> such patents are antisocial.  I'll be happy to blather about my  
> various
> intellectual property stances offlist if anyone wants.)
>
> Why does everyone seem to think "patented" is a
> jurisdiction-independent state?  People just say "patented" - and on a
> fairly specifically cross-jurisdictional list! - as if it were
> something that were the same everywhere.

We're designing for the Internet. That goes everywhere. Therefore,
any suggested protocol needs to be able to go everywhere, or it's
just a local implementation and outside the scope of a group that's
doing research for Internet protocols.

Cheers,
   Steve