source file: m1528.txt
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 14:17:46 -0600 (MDT)

Subject: Re: patents

From: John Starrett <jstarret@tiger.cudenver.edu>

At the risk of getting too far off the tuning subject, one last reply:
Gary Morrison wrote-
>   But anyway, as for a patented invention being "in long or common use", a
>lot of people don't realize that patent law not only prohibits you from
>patenting things that have not (sic) been patented before, but things 
>that are known in any way.
Yes, that is how it is supposed to work, but a poor prior art search and 
a tired examiner can result in patents being issued erroneously, and 
attourneys for large corporations can cause lots of trouble for little 
guys. It's one thing to be right, but another entirely to be forced to 
prove it in court. 
	Doesn't Charles Lucy hold a patent on his tuning system? 

John Starrett
http://www-math.cudenver.edu/~jstarret