<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.5730.11" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Pat,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Patent processes are complicated legal processes. The
success of a patent application is in part dependent on the skill, and
unfortunately, the connections of the patent attorneys handling the
application. Gone are the days when an inventor could file an application
and hope for a fair and timely ruling.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>W.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=pkraut@moscow.com href="mailto:pkraut@moscow.com">Pat Kraut</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 28, 2006 9:21 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] McDonald's Files for Patent
ontheSandwich:MoreAttempted Corporate Thivery</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Too much of the time we ask people to make
decisions about patents that are far, far removed from what is happening in a
new field. There were so many problems when computers started and software
issues that had to be worked through and I'll bet that the new field of genes is
going to be the same way. Some one out there owns certain illnesses? How does
that work? If I get that illness do owe that some one money? It is
ridiculous!</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 28, 2006 9:06
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] McDonald's
Files for Patent on theSandwich:MoreAttempted Corporate Thivery</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Pat,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Yes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>And the patent laws need a careful, fair work over
also.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>W.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=pkraut@moscow.com href="mailto:pkraut@moscow.com">Pat Kraut</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 28, 2006 9:08 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] McDonald's Files for Patent on the
Sandwich:MoreAttempted Corporate Thivery</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, I saw Michael Crichton this morning on GMA
promoting his new book NEST and learned that our genes can be patented and
are! Some illnesses have been! Seems to me that we need to keep a closer eye
on the patent office.</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, November 28, 2006 8:52
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] McDonald's Files
for Patent on the Sandwich: MoreAttempted Corporate Thivery</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><A onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1952246,00.html">McDonald's
Files for Patent on the Sandwich</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><STRONG><FONT face=Arial
size=5></FONT></STRONG></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><STRONG><FONT face=Arial
size=5></FONT></STRONG></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=5>Can nobody make a sandwich
like McDonald's?</FONT></STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=5> </DIV>
<P><STRONG></STRONG></P>
<DIV></FONT><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2><STRONG>David
Adam</STRONG><BR></FONT><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2><B>Monday
November 20, 2006</B><BR></DIV></FONT><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif
size=2>
<P><B>Guardian</B></P>
<DIV></FONT><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>It has been the food
of monarchs and commoners ever since John Montagu, the fourth Earl of
Sandwich, first pressed some meat between two slices of bread and took a
bite. Billions of butties later, the fast-food giant McDonald's has set its
sights on his invention. The company has filed patents in Europe and the US
that claim the "method and apparatus for making a sandwich" as its
intellectual property.</FONT> </DIV>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>Patent application WO2006068865
relates to the "pre-assembly of sandwich components and simultaneous
preparation of different parts of the same sandwich". It covers the
"simultaneous toasting of a bread component" and heating a "meat and/or
cheese filling". And it says the company has invented a way to add garnishes
and condiments using a "sandwich assembly tool".</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>The patent says McDonald's
wants to cut down on the time and labour required to put its sandwiches
together. The company also wants them to look and taste the same and has
come up with what it describes as "novel methods" to put them
together.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>The assembly tool contains a
"cavity" into which the sandwich-maker places the garnish ("including, but
not limited to, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickles, chilli, coleslaw,
giardinera, peppers, spinach, radishes, olives, egg, cooked bacon and
cheese") and the condiments ("ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, sauces, relish,
oils, salt, pepper, barbecue sauce, steak sauce, hot sauce, dressings
including salad dressings, yogurt, butter, margarine and liquid or
semi-liquid cheese").</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>A "bread component" is then
placed over the cavity and the assembly tool "inverted" to tip out the
contents. "Typically, a sandwich filling will thereafter be placed in the
bread component," the 55-page patent explains. "Often the sandwich filling
is the source of the name of the sandwich, for example - ham
sandwich."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>It also describes how to make
cocktail sandwiches, by taking a full-sized version that is "cut up into
smaller pieces".</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>Lawrence Smith-Higgins of the
UK Patent Office said: "McDonald's or anyone else can't get retrospective
exclusive rights to making a sandwich. They might have a novel device but it
could be quite easy for someone to make a sandwich in a similar way without
infringing their claims." McDonald's would not comment.</FONT> </P></FONT>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================</BODY></HTML>