Well according to US rules you have a year after
publication or first offer
for sale to apply for a patent but you have to show:
(a) You are the true inventor (who said what on the mailing list?)
(b) Due diligence in filing a claim (not just an
afterthought some time later)
Despite this, somebody has been issued patent on DNS - which
has been in
place for over 21 years.
The USPTO would not understand the concept of Due Dilligence if
it bit them in the ass, certainly they have never practiced it.
It might be an idea to file a prophilactic patent, Microsoft has
been doing that since they got burned by the Eolas patent.
Of course a patent may already have been filled.
The problem is not with big companies like Microsoft or IBM.
The real problem would come with some smart alex lurking on the
list.
Phill
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