[thelist] Ethical issues concerning re-use (and heavy modification) of images

[Martin]

On Thursday, May 9, 2002, at 04:00  pm, Arlen.P.Walker at jci.com wrote:

>  It's not possible to patent the automobile, in the main because
> the patent office wasn't as stupid then as it is now, and broad, vague
> claims were not allowed.

...

> The patent system works, as witness the explosive growth of innovation
> in
> the hardware arena, exemplified by Moore's Law.

The patent system worked when it operated as designed.
However, as
1) Patent authorities don't take account of prior art
    (*cough* 1 click)
2) Patents are granted for discoveries, not just inventions
    ("cough* genes (existing ones, not altered ones))
I'm not sure you can conclude that it doesn't have some major
issues.

Cheers
Martin
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