The Boeing Patent on lunar flybys is a particulary mental example. SES ditched a recovery plan for the comms satellite AMC-14 because Boeing had patented trajec

The Boeing Patent on lunar flybys is a particulary mental example. SES ditched a recovery plan for the comms satellite AMC-14 because Boeing had patented trajectory's that use the moons gravity to shift orbit and in the end sold it to the DOD, who presumably can ignore the Boeing patent. http://www.google.com/patents/US6116545 http://www.google.com/patents/US6116545 http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Boeing_Patent_Shuts_Down_AMC_14_Lunar_Flyby_Salvage_Attempt_999.html http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Boeing_Patent_Shuts_Down...