[Info-vax] HTTP/2 stole my Applet

[David Froble]

lawrencedo99 at gmail.com wrote:
> On Sunday, June 19, 2016 at 2:59:13 PM UTC+12, David Froble wrote:
>> Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>> On Sunday, June 19, 2016 at 3:21:36 AM UTC+12, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>>> On 2016-06-18, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Can you own an idea?
>>>> Yes. Copyights protect an implementation of an idea; a patent protects
>>>> the idea itself.
>>> If someone came up with the same idea before you, that can invalidate your
>>> patent (“prior art”).
>>>
>>> But if they came up with the same idea *after* you, they cannot claim
>>> independent invention as a defence against infringement. Why is that?
>> If they could, then what is the use of copyrights and patents.  Well, Ok, 
>> patents.  It's not independent if copywrited material is copied.
> 
> Why?

I'm assuming that you're asking why a patent protects an idea?

So, you come up with a better mousetrap, and you get a patent.  You may want to 
produce and sell the better mousetrap.  So you incur considerable expense 
setting up production.  If anybody could then copy your better mousetrap, and 
undercut your price, then you are going to lose the investment.

Would we have innovators, if they knew someone would just steal their ideas?

Sort of like China, huh?