[Asterisk-Dev] Re: [Asterisk-biz] Patent lawyers?

[Mike M]

On Tue, Jun 07, 2005 at 03:49:00PM -0700, David Pollak wrote:
> Folks,
> 
> Black and White Software was selling software that monitored a fax modem 
> on NeXT computers and forwarded incoming faxes to e-mail addresses back 
> in 1992.  If you need more information, I can dig up advertisements for 
> the product from NeXTWorld magazine.  I used the product (and know other 
> who did as well.)  It seems to be prior art to the fax via e-mail patents.

Read the patents carefully because the thing you describe above is for a
computer and not a national network.  It is these minor modifications
that get patented.  If you think of a major idea and some else improves
it in a minor way and patents the improvement, guess what?, you can't use the
improvement without the patent holder's permission.  That'll chap you,
won't it?

-- 
Mike