Re: what does a patent restrict?

On Tue, 12 Oct 1999, Karsten M. Self <kmself[_at_]ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
> Why do you say this? I'll admit that my initial response was similar,
> but perhaps it's the law that's the ass, not the courts. The law
> states "fixed in a tangible medium".

The question is whether the fixation can occur when stored in a place where information is only maintained temporarily, such as RAM. Copying from magnetic medium to a semi-permanent magnetic medium may be another thing entirely, but there is a fair argument, particularly with DRAM requiring refreshing, that there may be no actual fixation ever merely from the copying from disk to RAM.

If I put an image up on your computer screen only, is it "fixed?" Is the image you form on your retina (and then in your brain) a fixation?

"Moronic" is something of an overstatement, but it is clear that the court did not begin to address the actual question of fixation based on the ACTUAL technology issues.

On the other hand, there is little reason to believe that the law in this area will ever change -- and where the law presently *IS*, as opposed to where it maybe ought to be, is that "using" software almost always involves some "reproducing" somewhere.

Andrew C. Greenberg
<werdna[_at_]gate.net> Received on Wed Oct 13 1999 - 13:13:07 GMT