Enjoy the madness that hails from litigation central, the USA.
http://ctv2.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051214.wrlawyers14/business/Business/businessBN/ctv-businessFour short years ago, eBay Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. went to court in the United States to swat a pesky pair of tiny, Virginia-based companies that claimed, in separate actions, that their patents were being infringed by the technology giants.
Not only did the corporate Davids defeat the Goliaths, but eBay and RIM are now each engaged in white-knuckle struggles to stave off injunctions that would virtually shut down their U.S. operations. Unless a legal miracle occurs, such as a favourable U.S. Supreme Court ruling, two of the world's most admired innovators could be forced to pay settlements that some analysts predict could crest $1-billion (U.S.).
I must admit it seems a big joke to me to see this sort of thing as I would rather all info was shared out for the good of humanity and licensing an idea and calling it your for many years sounds pathetic when it has no real function other than a paper concept.
Inventions are to me and many others real items or prototypes, the move away from this sort of standard makes the whole process ridiculous.
