[Mimedefang] OT: Re: More patent stupidity

[Albert Croft]

mimedefang-request at lists.roaringpenguin.com wrote:

>Today's Topics:
>
>   1. More patent stupidity (David F. Skoll)
>   2. Re: More patent stupidity (Jeremy Mates)
>   6. Re: More patent stupidity (Kenneth Porter)
>   8. Re: More patent stupidity (Joseph Brennan)
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>Message: 8
>Date: Sat, 14 May 2005 10:55:44 -0400
>From: Joseph Brennan <brennan at columbia.edu>
>Subject: Re: [Mimedefang] More patent stupidity
>To: mimedefang at lists.roaringpenguin.com
>Message-ID: <1E4C32DE3823120FB4D774BA@[192.168.2.76]>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
>
>
>--On Friday, May 13, 2005 5:24 PM -0400 "David F. Skoll" 
><dfs at roaringpenguin.com> wrote:
>  
>
>>http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/05/13/HNtrendmicropatent_1.html
>>
>>"The Trend Micro patent explains technology that scans e-mail and
>>Internet data transfers for viruses at gateways and servers, before
>>the data arrives at a desktop computer."
>>
>>Does anyone have prior art for gateway virus scanning prior to 1997?
>>    
>>
><http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/srchnum.htm>
>
>Enter number 5,623,600.
>
>Can I patent a mousetrap now by just saying I have "a system in which
>a trap can be placed, a mouse can enter it, and the trap will close
>in the event that a mouse is detected"?  I thought I had to say how
>it worked.
>
>Joseph Brennan
>
A recent posting on Groklaw ( 
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20050512082946871 ) discussed a 
release by the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) of a presentation on 
finding prior art.  The presentation is (at this time) available as both 
OGG and MP3 audio files, with the slides from the presentation available 
in PDF format. Thought it might prove informative, at least, for those 
who might be unsure what to be looking for in the search for prior art.

-Albert C.