[geeks] Patents vs. spam

[wa2egp at att.net]

> Recalling the recent discussion about patenting something
> and then NOT using it:
> 
> http://theregister.co.uk/content/6/34035.html
> 
> "SiliconValley.com's Dan Gillmor speculates that AT&T might have nobler 
> motives. By patenting techniques for bypassing spam filters, AT&T can sue 
> spammers for using such techniques; but he rejects this idea on the grounds 
> that spammers are hardly going to throw in the towel because of a little 
> legal difficulty."
> 
> -DanD
Now I find that amusing since I've been fighting a company that plants a
trojan horse in a computer which will call a porn website for $5/minute without
your knowledge or connects your machine to a number in Africa.  With the latter,
the long distanc carrier gets a piece of the action and AT&T seems to be
getting the biggest piece of the action among all of the carriers from what
I've read.  (Sigh)  Things never seem to change....