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In some industries this is unfeasable, the cost of signing the contracts with a million little players would be too dificult. However, the auto industry is not

In some industries this is unfeasable, the cost of signing the contracts with a million little players would be too dificult. However, the auto industry is not one of those industries and Volvo definitely could of gone this way. But how many years would it be until someone decided they should squeeze a couple extra hundred million out of their seatbelt patent? I'm glad we'll never have to find out

tnorthcutt 13y ago
definitely could of gone Pet peeve of mine; it's "could have gone".
- sitharus 13y ago
  Or could've gone, which is closer to speech and still correct.
  - agilebyte 13y ago
    And causes the "of" misspelling.
chrischen 13y ago
MPEG LA does this. They make anyone trying to use their algorithms pay and sign a contract.
- josephlord 13y ago
  They don't make anyone do anything. They only offer a bulk buy deal with many of the patent holders. The patent holders are the people who might bring legal action.
  - chrischen 13y ago
    http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/AgreementExpress.aspx http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/AgreementExpre...
    - josephlord 13y ago
      Is that agreeing with me?
      - chrischen 13y ago
        They've sent me the contract before, and I was a nobody. You just have to contact them.
brazzy 13y ago
> the cost of signing the contracts with a million little players would be too dificult. Isn't it entirely up to the patent holder how the licensing process works? You could make it as simple (and cheap) as buying software online. So what if some people wouldn't pay? As long as most do, you're fine.