[Asrg] not patents, was Email Postage (was Re: FeedBack loops

[Dave CROCKER]

John R Levine wrote:
>> I'm sorry I even brought it up, as it seems to have completely
>> derailed the conversation.  I certainly didn't *mean* "WOULD apply,"
>> just *might* apply.
> 
> Goodmail doesn't have any patents.  What are you talking about?


There are lots of patents in the space the group is discussing.  It's not much 
of a reach to imagine that one or another of them has been licensed by one or 
another of the companies in this space.

Focusing on a particular company distracts from just how much prior art there is 
and how difficult it can be to predict whether a particular patent will be 
viewed as infringing.

Those of us with some expert witness experience know how flexible the game can 
be.  And I'm pretty sure none of us is a patent attorney.

So we all probably ought to worry more about desired common functionality and 
less about infringement.

d/

-- 

   Dave Crocker
   Brandenburg InternetWorking
   bbiw.net