On Wednesday 19 May 2004, jmcc at hackwatch.com (John McCormac) wrote:
>Good examples. The phrase that sums up the difference between patents
>and copyrights is:
>>Patents protect the idea and copyright protects the expression of the idea.
That's not correct. You CAN'T patent an idea, but rather the implementation of
an idea. For instance, one famous case was Polaroid vs Kodak for instant
pictures. Polaroid didn't have a patent on the idea of instant pictures, but
rather on their processes to provide same (the implementation of the idea).
However, it must be said that the U.S. P.T.O. seems to grant patents on ideas
now e.g. one click shopping. And the problem with patents is not just whether
they are valid or not, but the huge cost of fighting.
Niall
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