On Feb 3, 7:22 am, Chris Ahlstrom <ahlstr...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> After takin' a swig o' grog, Rex Ballard belched out
> this bit o' wisdom:
>
>
>
> > Thomas Edison was notorious for his abuse of patents, chasing film
> > producers from Rochester New York to California, having hired thugs
> > demolish cameras and projectors if the producers didn't give Edison
> > the royalties he demanded (which were steep). More important was the
> > way he protected his patents, working desparately to prevent the
> > adoption of Alternating Current, which eliminated the need for a
> > governer used to synchronize DC generators.
>
> > Until about 1983, most software could not be patented. It was only
> > when RSA filed for a patent on their encryption - one device entirely
> > implemented in hardware, and the other implemented entirely in
> > software, that the judge decided that both "black boxes" could be
> > patented.
>
> > Around 1994, Republicans decided that ALL software could be patented,
> > since software was just a bunch of black boxes connected together.
> > This was especally true of UNIX. In fact, again, it was getting hard
> > to tell what was hardware and what was software in things like
> > telephone systems.
> I doubt it was just Republicans.
I don't know the vote, exactly. And Bill Clinton had to sign the
bill.
I believe the actual laws were revised almost immediately after the
Republicans got their majority in 1994, with the law actually being
passed in 1995.
Maybe Roy can look that up?
> Both House and Senate wear business suits.
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