Re: patent violation exposure when adding an incremental and novel missing piece

"Claus" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>  how do database companies and software companies get
> going when there are patents on general "information storage and
> retrievel" mechanisms, or software that "accesses information storage,
> writes, reads, or updates data" ?  Does that mean everyone in the
> commercial software industry is paying royalties for all these general
> patents ?

No, not at all. When you buy a standard PC computer, for example, whatever
price you pay includes everyone's patent royalties and so forth all the way
down the line. If you are selling software that runs on a standard PC, you
don't have to pay any royalties to anybody unless it is for some component
of the s/w package itself.

On the other hand, if you are selling software that runs on a proprietary
system, that might be a different story. For example, a device that counts
pills. If you have a software product that has to be uploaded into that
patented pill counter, that might be a different story -- especially if you
have to disassemble or modify the product before you can load your software.

Have you searched through any patents yet? If so, which ones do you feel
interfere with your ability to sell your software product? Do you know that
basic differences between the various forms of intellectual property
protection? (Patent/copyright/trademark/tradedress.) http://idearights.com
provides a pretty good introduction.

Mike