from The LPF at Fall COMDEX 1993 or "Somtimes Everything Happens All at Once" By: Chris Hofstader

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

COMPTON'S ENCYCLOPEDIA PATENT


On the morning of the second day of Fall COMDEX 1993 Compton's
Enctclopedia announced that they had been granted a patent that covers
virtually all multi-media applications and definately all applications
that search a CD-ROM.  They also announced that they plan on
aggresively prosecuting this patent and that to license their
technology companies would have to pay 1% to 3% of total corporate
revenue.


People who we spoke to who attended the press conference reported that
it was the most hostile reception that they'd ever seen at a COMDEX
press event.  After only four or five very angry questions from the
press the Compton's representatives reportedly refused to take any
more questions and stormed off the stage, ending the press conference
at about 10:30 am.


By Tuesday at noon rumors of this announcement were spreading around
the convention like wildfire.  Questions like "Could this really
happen?"  and "Is the patent office really that dumb?" where
everywhere.  Everyone was looking for corporate comment.


Also around noon of that day the first questions were coming into the
LPF booth.  The first we heard of it was when I was asked in the booth
by a reporter "What's the LPF reaction to Compton's?"  I asked what
Compton's was and he explained.  This was very big and we did what we
could to find out more about the patent and to respond.


Paul Ruben stayed up all night and drafted a statement which Steve
McElroy circulated the following day.  It expressed our opposition to
the patent and invited people to our booth to learn more about the
patent issue in general.


Throughout the rest of the week Compton's was a main topic of
conversation in meetings that I held with people from industry and the
press.  It felt for the first time that almost everyone was coming
around o the LPF position.  WordPerfect execs stated to me that WP
plans on fighting the patent and that it was important for the
industry to unify against Compton's.


Bill Gates announced that Microsoft plans to fight this to the end.
In a call for industry unity Gates also suggested that Microsoft would
help all defendants with financial and legal assistance in any suit
brought on by Compton's.


Lotus, as per tradition, reared their ugly head again.  They announced
that they support the patent and that they negotiated a permanent
license to the technology with Compton's.  Lotus reportedly has payed
$50 million dollars for this license or approximately ten times 1% of
their total corporate earnings!


Back in the LPF booth the sentiment against software patents among the
convention attendees seemed to be stronger than ever before.