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Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Charles Tutt who wrote (48498)	4/22/2002 8:55:34 AM
From: alydar	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

<<You should never have to reverse engineer something that is patented. If you do, the patent is invalid as not enabling.>> the other poster is correct, you can reverse anything. the the catch is, if the process or formula is patented, it is illegal to commercialize the copycat product for the life of the patent (i.e., 17 years). if you choose to commercialize your copycat, then you open yourself to litigation. i have been told a patent "only gives you a right to sue". this is correct. take the drug companies for instance. any product can be "reverse engineered" but competitors choose not to because of patent litigation. they wait until it become a generic and "off-patent". orcl patented "real application clusters". though it might be possible to "reverse engineer" the way orcl is doing it, the concept of applying cluster, in the way orcl does, is not patented and thus protected by civil precendents. in conclusion, the other poster is correct in saying any software can be reverse engineered. but there is patent law to protect the inventor so his point is meaningless. rocky.