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From: gosse@let.rug.nl (Gosse Bouma)
Subject: patents 
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Message-ID: <1996Apr29.130205.20965@let.rug.nl>
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 13:02:05 GMT
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In the May issue of Wired, the following `raw data' are given:

US Software Patenting in 1995

`In 1995, networking and security wer hot, while biotech and virtual
reality were not.'

number of patents -->

0            250            500           750          1000         1250
|             |              |             |             |            |
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx networks & communication xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx image processing xxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx       operating systems
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx        automobiles & transportation
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx      security & encryption
xxxxxx       distributed processing
xxxxx        artificial intelligence
xxxxx        neural networks
xxxxx        object oriented programming
xxxx         natural language analysis
xx           virtual reality
x            biotechnology

(this is my rough translation of the chart in Wired, no precise figures
are given...).

Note that the number of patents in the area of `natural language analysis' 
almost equals that of ai, nn, or oop, and exceeds the number of patents in
area's such as vr and biotech. 

Does anybody have any idea what these patents are about (speech recognition,
information retrieval,..)? Does anybody have any explanation for the fact 
that such a small (?) field, which has never been very succesful when it
comes to developing commercial applications, leads to a relatively large 
number of patents ?

Gosse Bouma.
-- 
Gosse Bouma, Alfa-informatica, RUG, Postbus 716, 9700 AS Groningen
gosse@let.rug.nl      tel. +31-50-3635937      fax  +31-50-3636855
