[BCPVP]

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i have written papers on the functional/expression dichotomy and how computer programs have been using copyright terms as defacto patent rights by requiring non-reverse engineering clauses in their EULAs.

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I have no problem with a company doing that. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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the bottom line is you just say "no, im not worried," but you cant seem to come up with a single example in recent history that would suggest your system would be best.

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You'll find a lot of ideas for "my" system haven't been tried to their full extent. This has little bearing on whether patents are justified.

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yes we have been inventing forever, but your only explanation for the incentive lies in the head start an inventor would have.

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It may shock you to learn that some people invent things as a hobby and some people invent things to help them do something better. It may even be someone's job to invent something (R&D researcher).

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so im gonna poor hundreds of millions into a revolutionary drug just cause i feel like it.

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This raises another point about why such research is so expensive. Government interference certainly has something to do with that.

And I thought we were talking about how the small inventor would get squeezed out? Where'd these millions come from?

Finally, it may not pay for another company to release the exact same drug as the one you invented. Companies like to differentiate their products. But if they do, then we have competition and the better producer will win. That's a good thing.