!083194 French spies & patents & copyrights Once again the exciting world of being a spy intrudes into the world of patenting. Last time it was spying for the Justice Department (against companies using patents to create monopolies). This time it involves patents, copyrights and France. [At the end of this message you will hear a beep - take the bits of this secret message and eat them] Last week France's state-owned computer company, Groupe Bull, announced that last October it had filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Texas Instruments. The case involves smart card microprocessor technology that is copyrighted by Groupe Bull in 1983. The suit was filed in US District Court in Virginia, but has been transferred to Texas. But, according to an article in L'Express, Texas Instruments is fighting back with allegations that the technology Bull claims to have developed was based on technology stolen from Texas Instruments during a French industrial espionage action that allegedly was uncovered by US authorities in 1980. Naturally, Bull denies any connection to industrial-espionage activity by French agents. I'm skeptical, since what's the point of being owned by a government if fellow government agencies (like the spies) don't supply you with information they find for that very purpose? Greg Aharonian Internet Patent News Service