Andrew Warren wrote:
>
>     Jesus, Tjaart... Give it a rest.
Hehehe. Relax, Andy. Resting is for people who work 8 hour days.

>
>     What do you suppose patents are FOR?  If owning a patent doesn't
>     give you the right to sue people who infringe upon it, what
>     rights DOES it give you?
You are completely right. However, it is a sad fact that justice costs
money. A costly dispute would eventually benefit the stronger of the
involved companies. Mchip is not so innocent here either (Remember the
Lucent patent lawsuit?).

I wonder what became of that one. Does anybody know?

>
>     If "the technology is within reach of a small company like
>     Scenix" only because (as Microchip has alleged) they've
>     infringed on Microchip's patents or been given confidential
>     information from someone prohibited from disclosing it, then
>     Microchip SHOULD be granted the remedies for which they've asked.
Of course.

>     And your argument that Microchip should spend its money on
>     engineers rather than on lawyers is specious at best... I mean,
>     what's the POINT of spending money on engineers if you can't
>     protect their work?
Right again. I don't dispute the value of intellectual property.

>
>     I'll admit that Steve Sanghi appears to have read Andy Grove's
>     book and taken notes... His paranoia (I use the word in the same
>     sense as Grove does) seems rather extreme.  However, it IS his
>     job -- his ONLY job -- to make his company as profitable as
>     possible, and vigorous defense of its intellectual property is
>     necessary to achieve that goal.
>
>     Personally, I see some problems with Microchip's position... For
>     example, some of the patents (like number 5,473,758) may be
>     judged invalid if this case ever goes to trial.
>
>     Also, Microchip claims that Parallax improperly used information
>     it acquired under NDA "three years ago".  Every Microchip NDA
>     that _I've_ ever signed has had a confidentiality period of only
>     three years... If Parallax DID use any information covered by the
>     NDA, they may prove in court that they waited until the day
>     after the NDA expired to do so.
>
>     Nevertheless, these issues have no bearing on the question at
>     hand, which is "Is Microchip doing the right thing by bringing
>     suit against Scenix and Parallax?".  Personally, I think they
>     are... If for no other reason than that they don't have a
>     choice.
Why did they wait until now?

--
Friendly Regards

Tjaart van der Walt
mailto:tjaart@wasp.co.za
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