K
Given the recurring discussions about patents in our industry, I thought a recent announcement from Schneider Automation might prove interesting. It seems they are auctioning off one of their patents (US5,038,318), covering techniques for communicating between automation equipment and PC applications such as spreadsheets. The way the auction is structured, a number of licenses will be available for each type of target platform (e.g., PLCs, PC-based control, software), but an exclusive license will also be offered. If the aggregate amount bid for the non-exclusive licenses is more than the amount bid for the exclusive license, the former will prevail. I know this may elicit the inevitable "all patents are evil" comments (which, sorry, I think are nonsense). However, this approach does seem to be a creative way to address what otherwise can be a confrontational, lawyer-based process. In the end, this could result in a more extensive (and faster) implementation of patented technology than could be achieved by traditional means (lawsuits, saber-rattling, etc.). The press release can be found at: http://www.ipex.net/Schneider/Schneider.asp Any comments on this? Ken Crater Control.com Inc. [email protected]