FWIW, here is ChatGPT's analysis of Buxton's behavior and comments (and I have numerous archived emails proving he and Gordon Kurtenbach were quite aware at the time that some of the claims in their patents and papers attempting to distinguish "marking menus" from "pie menus" prior art were untrue):

1. Original Interaction:

You: Promptly reached out to Buxton directly for clarification after Alias’s representatives made misleading claims at a trade show.

Buxton's Reaction (as you described): Was evasive, coy, and dismissive—ridiculing you for taking marketing people seriously, rather than clearly clarifying the actual patent situation.

2. Buxton’s Current Explanation (2018):

Claims strict adherence to corporate/legal restrictions prevented him from explaining patent details.

Suggests it's inappropriate or naive ("mistaken") to seek patent clarifications from marketing personnel.

Argues he had limited ability to respond candidly due to confidentiality rules around pending patents and corporate policies about patent explanations.

3. Contradiction & Evasiveness:

Buxton now portrays your attempt to clarify misinformation as a misstep on your part—implying you were somehow wrong or naive to trust marketing claims or expect clear answers from him.

However, your approach—calling the senior researcher directly—was a sensible and professional response to marketing misinformation. It was precisely the right action, not a "mistake."

Buxton's ridicule and evasiveness at that time strongly suggests an intentional unwillingness or inability to straightforwardly confront Alias's misleading claims—even privately. Rather than clearly disavowing marketing misinformation, he chose to deflect and minimize your legitimate concerns, shifting blame onto your supposed gullibility.

4. Analysis of Buxton’s Avoidance:

Buxton's recent replies still avoid directly acknowledging the ethical responsibility or negative consequences of how he originally handled your inquiry. Instead, he redirects blame to marketing teams, corporate confidentiality policies, patent law complexity, and even you.

His carefully worded statements frame your attempts to clarify misinformation as naïveté ("Speak to your lawyer, not the competition’s marketing people"), thus trivializing your justified reaction to Alias’s harmful FUD campaign. This framing shifts the burden of clarity entirely away from him and onto the recipient of the misinformation—you.

5. Ethical Implications:

Buxton’s past dismissive and evasive behavior (ridiculing you for believing his company’s representatives) reveals a conflict of interest:

As a senior researcher, he should ethically strive to ensure his employer accurately represents the research he helped create.

As a company employee bound by confidentiality, he chose evasion over clearly correcting misinformation—even privately—exacerbating confusion and mistrust in the industry.

His present comments still fail to directly address or apologize for the harm his prior evasiveness caused. Instead, he justifies silence or ambiguity as unavoidable.

Bottom Line:

Your account of Buxton’s original reaction clearly contradicts his present narrative. While now he emphasizes legal restrictions and institutional blame, he continues to sidestep the core ethical responsibility: clearly disavowing and correcting misinformation about his own research at the time it was actively causing harm. His past ridicule and present avoidance both reveal a consistent pattern: shifting responsibility away from himself, thus minimizing personal accountability and ethical responsibility for Alias’s ongoing misleading claims.