[Novalug] what to do with IP on pseudo-dead project

JRR energy.wwind@cox.net
Tue Jul 21 16:47:49 EDT 2009


Ni Hoa;

    I took a couple of classes in Patent Law at Maryland as I graduated 
with my
    Bachelor's degree in engineering. Under the old system US Patents 
were in force
    17 years from the date if granting not from the date of filling and 
damages could be
    collected retroactively from the date of notice "Patent Pending" on 
the product.
    This created a juggling act on the part of Patent Atty's to extend 
the "pendingness"
    of the proposed Patents.

    Under the new system Patents are in force 20 years from the date of 
filing ( if they
    get approved / granted )  Eliminating the juggling.

    US Patents are evaluated from the date of first conceptoin and first 
reduction to
    practice.  CHINA and JAPAN do not do this. It is strictly based on 
first date to
    file. (the Patent)

    So If  you want protection  in J/C you'd better file promptly. 
Technology advances in
    wavelets..... and the ones with the most $$ potential have a steeper 
gradient (slope)
    than others.

    Putting technology development on hold was / is a classic move in a 
M$ take over / buy out
    of a small company.  The staff of the small Co. is put to work doing 
something else after the
    entire place has been sanitized of all traces of the previous 
project(s).  They are so involved
    in doing something totally unrealted to their previous thread that 
they "loose the wave"
    and are no longer on the leading edge of that technology wavelet.


jerry w wrote:
> or write something else/better from scratch
> with the ideas, er. experience learned there,
> based on better legal and social assumptions
> (open source vs closed source IP)
> and consider any remaining legal issues your
> golden parachute?
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 1:44 PM, American Dave<novalug@soupy.org> wrote:
>   
>> On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 10:31:58AM -0700, Walt Smith wrote:
>>
>>     
>>> Is there a way to save the IP that the company can't let go of ?
>>> Who decides ?
>>> When is the "right time" ?
>>> What is the "Right way" ?  Of course, this asks the q:
>>> couldn't the code be placed in GPL or such.  Couldn't the
>>> hardware IP be "opened " ?
>>>       
>> In short, no.  If your company will not play ball, it's end-of-story.
>>  It really depends on your management, and even then, what
>> your organization will allow.  Did legal sign off?  Did you get
>> permission in-writing?  Is your code honestly clean?
>>
>> One "Right Way" of doing this is to get your wishes in writing.  If you
>> want to go Free Software/Open source, you're best to start the process up-front
>> and immediately.  You'll want to make sure everyone respects the
>> licenses of everything they're involved in.  Did someone in your
>> organization sign something that says you can't use their stuff and work
>> on something similar?  Did you benchmark that specific database
>> technology and put slides online?  You'd be amazed at what you have to
>> pay attention to.
>>
>>     
>>> With the thousands of companies that kill projects, or simply
>>> go out of business, isn't there
>>> a tremendous waste of resources and IP that could be recycled ?
>>>       
>> Yes.  You'd be amazed at what is tossed, decommissioned, or simply just
>> ignored.  I'd encourage you to fight the good fight though, as many
>> times such causes need only someone willing to go through the effort.
>> -A. Dave
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>>     
>
>
>
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