Re: strokes-mode and touchscreen patents? was Re: emacs and touchscreen

[David O'Toole]

If I do by some chance strike it rich, I would want to fund prior art research.

On Sun, Jan 16, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Stephen J. Turnbull <address@hidden> wrote:
> David O'Toole writes:
>  > Something occurred to me today after watching my touchscreen
>  > strokes-mode video. Could the gesture recognition in strokes.el either
>  > 1. be threatened by patents that existed prior to 1997 (the first year
>  > of copyright listed in strokes.el) or 2. qualify as prior art for
>  > techniques patented later?
>
> 1.  Yes.  But why limit to earlier patents?  It infringes patents
>    granted afterward, as well.  Once a patent is granted, it is the
>    defendent's problem to break the patent, not the patentholder's
>    problem to justify the patent.  This is very costly even if you
>    have rock-solid prior art.
>
> 2.  Yes.  But see point 1 for why this doesn't really matter to you
>    unless you're really rich.
>
>