Clark, At 11:52 AM 11/11/99 -0200, you wrote: > >So perhaps it just was to the scholarship (sic) of my research that Horace was >referring... Since, other than what I can glean/project from your posts, I know nothing of either you or your work, I obviously cannot speak directly concerning issues of your scholarship or compentency - any more than you can of mine. My remarks were intended for someone known to me who lurks on several lists, including this one, with whose schloarship I do have some direct experience. In any event, these discussions always raise issues that are, by and large, insoluble. Between fires and other destruction within the Patent Office itself, sloth and carelessness among its own employees (particularly in earlier years), and the tendency of piano makers (much like the old Thomas organs) to (quite literally) engineer things on the line during production, just about the only things of which we can be sure are the representative instruments with which we deal in contemporary real time, and that most of the things thought to be new have been at least tried and discarded, if not used, before. (Sorry for the poor syntax.) Besides, once a patent lapses and is not renewed, it enters public domain. Sometimes even minimal revision can result in a new patent being issued. Also, since the concept of the patent itself implies some potential future profit, it follows that those patents which stand to generate the largest profits are those most jealously protected. Piano-related patents hardly qualify as large profit-makers anymore. (Note that this doesn't mean that the patent process is not guarded; in fact it is much more stringent now than ever - still, a lapsed patent is a lapsed patent.) >Would there be a means of contacting Mr. Jones on this topic? Still at S&S. Best. Horace ************************************************************************* Horace Greeley, CNA, MCP RPT voice: 650.725.9062 Systems Analyst/Engineer, fax: 650.725.8014 Controller's Office, Stanford University hgreeley@stanford.edu 651 Serra St., RM 100, MC 6215 Stanford, CA 94305-6215 *************************************************************************
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