Peter actcom.co.il> writes: > > > I have seldomly felt as sick as I did after reading this article. I > believe that any country that adopts patent laws such as the ones > practiced there should also adopt informal lynching as a form of casual > justice. I feel that the two go well together. Sorry. If this message is > not welcome I will unsubscribe from the piclist. I may do that anyway. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Moore_v._the_Regents_of_the_University_of_Cali fornia First, I understand why you feel so emotional about this. I see at least 3 issues here: 1. Did they have the right to use man's material and does the man have a right to any royalties? 2. Did they commit medical malpractise? 3. Why do you connect PICList subscribtion and this issue? 1. The issue is settled, by court. We may like it or not, but it is a decision by court. The man can appeal, up to supreme court, but until he does, the issue is closed. (please note that I am not stating my opinion here). Somewhere in this thread you make an analogy with copying the seeds created by monsanto. Unlike monsanto, or other companies involved in generation of genetically modified organisms, the man did not spend a dime to make his cells valuable. The patent system was established for the purpose of allowing a company to recoup investment it did in R&D. In the case of this man, he did not "create" his cells. One can argue that god created those cells, but nobody has seen god complaining. 2. If the removal of spleen and other procedures were not required for medical reasons, then they certainly did. The best way to decide this is, again, go to court. I understand that judicial system is not perfect, there are a lot of lawsuits that make one sick, but it is the best system we've got. So far nobody has come up with a better system. 3. Like several other people in this thread, I cannot understand why do you link your subscribtion to PICList and your post. People do post [OT] on this list. The only reason for your statement that I can see is that it is intended as a threat for the list not to express opinions unfavorable to you. I choose not to accept this reason at this time. Best, Sergey Dryga ------------------------- http://beaglerobotics.com -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist