And if the patent holders choose to come after you, you're toast. At the current, breakneck pace, the agency will have granted a total of 100,000 software patents by the year 2000. But the PTO can't figure out how to determine prior art in computer programs, so they're essentially handing out software patents willy-nilly. Companies are getting patents on software techniques that have been in common use for years. A shocking statement, perhaps, but it's standard operating procedure in hardball business.
Big companies know that software patents are powerful tools.
They can use patents to keep new entrants out of the market, force competitors to divulge trade secrets, or put them out of business. The company claimed it had invented the technique a year prior to Perens' release of the code. But wait a minute, you're probably thinking. Inventors and innovators deserve patent protection. If anyone else wants to use it, fine, but you get a licensing fee.