Return to BSD News archive
Xref: sserve comp.org.eff.talk:9452 misc.int-property:581 comp.unix.bsd:6396 Path: sserve!manuel.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!hp9000.csc.cuhk.hk!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!ucbvax!virtualnews.nyu.edu!brnstnd From: brnstnd@nyu.edu (D. J. Bernstein) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk,misc.int-property,alt.suit.att-bsdi,comp.unix.bsd Subject: Re: Patents: What they are. What they aren't. Other factors. Message-ID: <11828.Oct1103.34.4392@virtualnews.nyu.edu> Date: 11 Oct 92 03:34:43 GMT References: <1992Oct1.090209.9474@netcom.com> <12962.Oct320.42.3592@virtualnews.nyu.edu> <1992Oct6.182846.21881@netcom.com> Organization: IR Lines: 26 In article <1992Oct6.182846.21881@netcom.com> mcgregor@netcom.com (Scott Mcgregor) writes: > In article <12962.Oct320.42.3592@virtualnews.nyu.edu> brnstnd@nyu.edu (D. J. Bernstein) writes: > >Fine. The burden is now on you to explain how a patent examiner, faced > >with ``The Fast Foo Method of Sorting Data'' and ``The Fast Bar Method > >of Sorting Data,'' can reliably determine whether Foo is prior art for > >Bar, or vice versa. > The method I would use is the one I understand the PTO uses. Okay, so let's say you apply the method you just outlined. You find that both Foo and Bar were (according to the people involved) invented a few months ago and haven't been sold or published yet. You check the claims. Foo has a claim saying ``Input the data, do A, then B, then C, then output the data.'' Bar has a claim saying ``Input the data, do D, then E, then output the data.'' A and B and C and D and E are all mental steps involving moving data, comparing data, making decisions, etc. You don't see A doing the same thing as D, or B and C doing the same thing as E, or A and B doing the same thing as D, or C doing the same thing as E. Okay, that's the entire process you've described. It hasn't come up with anything. Do you insist that Foo and Bar are not equivalent? (Yes, I'm baiting you. If you want to take another shot at my original challenge, feel free. This one just doesn't hold water.) ---Dan