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

[Steven]

On Tue, 2005-06-07 at 19:21 -0400, Mike M wrote:
> 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?


Maybe I'm missing something, but David said the software emailed the
faxes. If so, they had national networks in '92 and email worked over
them. 

It would have been just like using spandsp and any email app to get the
message out. It is exactly the same thing.
-- 
Steven <critch at basesys.com>