God blinds those He wants to lose.

> On the other hand, I'm looking forward to seeing quicker improvements to compression technology : thanks to lessening presure from patents, as more companies invest in compression technology because they want to use it, not because they want to license it.

The next time a patent like this comes up to SCOTUS (or perhaps even the Federal Court), I strongly expect it to be gutted, eviscerated, and whacked with a pick-axe in the head.

So the whole model is going to fall apart anyway, because the patents will cease to exist. Hopefully also new patents will stop being born because the US Patent Office will get its fingers rapped and told "They're maths, stupid! Not patentable!"

Cheers,
Wol