Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Unusual phone call
Author: Dave Winer Posted: 4/17/2000; 6:54:55 PM Topic: Unusual phone call Msg #: 16351 Prev/Next: 16350 / 16352
I got a strange phone call this morning from an old friend who now is a TV producer, among other things. They've gotten a bunch of money from the US Patent and Trademark Office to do a series on inventors. (!)They're putting together a proposal for the first show, which they want to do about the Great Inventors of the PC and the Internet. They want to get together with me to talk about the history of this business, but they don't want the usual story, the folklore so often repeated, Vannevar Bush, Doug Engelbart, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Marc Andreessen, etc.
I asked if he knew how I felt about patents, and he said he did. They want to give me a brain puzzle I guess. How would I tell the story of this industry from the inventor's point of view? Excellent question. There are a lot of names that get left out of the standard story. And some interesting and juicy stories that never got told. Perhaps we could call it The Unauthorized History of Invention in the Computer Industry.
He also said the USPTO wants to fix the problem, that Dickerson is angry about the mess that's been created. I said the first step is to rescind all the business method and software patents. Looks like I'll get a chance to meet with Dickerson to explain why.
Like I said it was an unusual call.
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