-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 At 10:34 AM 9/29/2005, you wrote:
josh said:
I do know big companies like Microsoft, who employ more lawyers than some small countries boast, have paid a lot of money in the past for licenses for fonts, which they wouldn't need if there were no copyright attached to the typefaces.
perhaps what their "need" is, in this situation, is to legitimize a form of highway robbery that they intend on using themselves to the fullest...
Wow! That is the dumbest economic theory I have ever heard in my life! A company is going to spend money on a bunch of lawyers that they don't need, and pay for a bunch of licences that have no legal standing, and some how this will magically legitimize the thing which they are paying for in the first place? Yep. Sure. Makes plenty of sense to me.
i'm sure you heard bill gates recently escalated the number of patents for which microsoft applies. no, there was no sudden leap in their "innovation", but just a policy-shift that reflected their belief that (ab)use of the patent process was a new goldmine...
No news there. Companies have been doing this for years and years.
all of the big corporations pay licensing fees gladly. they realize that -- among themselves -- they're just shuffling a lot of cash back and forth in the process -- which they don't mind, it keeps their accountants busy -- so none of them really _make_ a lot, or _lose_ a lot...
It makes sense. Business isn't about competition and making money, it's about protecting your competitors.
but the real benefit accrues to them by virtue of the fact that this practice raises the cost of entry for new players... they realize they can't knock each other out, but they can work together to ensure that nobody else enters the ring...
Couching 9th grade conspiracy theories between statements of fact which is apparent to everyone doesn't make them any less ridiculous. Sincerely Aaron Cannon - -- E-mail: cannona@fireantproductions.com Skype: cannona MSN Messenger: cannona@hotmail.com (Do not send E-mail to the hotmail address.) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (MingW32) - GPGrelay v0.959 Comment: Key available from all major key servers. iD8DBQFDPBWHI7J99hVZuJcRAirHAJ4ts4YrkxnQGwwcWbcZbFZ4+oh40ACg8QJJ y2Txm1P2uzO13b5E6QYEdIs= =yhCm -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----