Epsilon Team! patents the Dot Map™

EPSILON ERIDANI - Government officials announced today that have patented the Dot Map™. "I recieved a letter from the US Patent Office this morning," said President DaveMcW. "They accepted our application and granted us patent number 5,220,432 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,220,432.PN.)." A patent grants the holder exclusive rights to use the invention for 25 years.

Epsilon Team! is willing to share their knowledge. "I am putting together a licensing program right now," said Foreign Minister General_W. "We are looking to charge other teams about 1 gold per Dot, with volume discounts available."

Science Minister Memphus explained how he discovered the Dot Map™. "I was telling everyone how great it would be to build a city at Eridani-7-7-8-8, but no one understood what I was talking about. So I drew a map in the sand and placed a dot where our settler should go. :yup:"

http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/9489/dotmap6wu.jpg
The First Dot Map™

Chief Prosecuter peter grimes immediately recognized the value of the invention, and put together the paperwork to obtain a US Patent. He is also credited with coming up with the name Dot Map™.

Not everyone was happy with new patent. "I have been using maps with dots for years, and suddenly I have to pay lisence fees? Something is seriously wrong with this patent system," complained Conan the local barbarian. Defense Minister lost_civantares restored order by chopping off Conan's head.

Thanks for the detailed map of your city. However since you dont have paper isnt posting a map impossible. :) Therefore your patent is hereby declared NULL AND VOID since you dont know what a map is yet. :)
'
Aloha and have a pleasant day

Nice fake map too:)

What's a ma...mo...mop?

Sirian has blessed us my dear sir. :worship::worship: (ie, goody huts are best consumed in very large numbers.)

25 years won't take too long to pass...

25 years won't take too long to pass...

one turn really...

I can assure all of you that, even though we don't yet know of Paper (how is it that we can know that we lack the knowledge of something?.... Ref: Rumsfeld (2003): There are things that we know, and things that we don't know. There are also things that we know we don't know, and then there are things that we don't know we don't know... etc.), nonetheless, the Primacy stands. Non-licensed instances of the DotMap will be prosecuted.

All requests for License may be emailed to our Gmail, with the subject "RFL: DotMap"

Hi,

Thanks for the detailed map of your city.
This had been posted to show just how bad our situation really is: Note that we lack iron! :eek: I hope the license fees we will get from the Dot Map will be somewhat of a compensation for our serious lack of such an important resource. :sad:

-Kylearan

P.S. We have a patent pending for The Pink Dot, so don't even try to use those in your Dot Maps...

Too bad you don't have the Australian patent ;)

Cute. However...

*whips out the patent on the Dot Map(TM) from 2001AD*

You're four and a half years too late to patent my invention. :lol:

Oh, and don't even start on the Pink Dot(TM). I realize that I had put out Dot Maps in the original Realms Beyond SG, and that I didn't bring out the Pink Dot until the third game, but... don't even go there. :whipped:


- Sirian

Team Piffle hearby announces our intention to honor Team Epsion's Dot Map™ patent. Therefore we have eshewed the Dot Map™ in favor of the "Figurin' Grid."

While possessing some external similarities to the Dot Map™ the Figurin' Grid operates using completely different, internal principles that have been deemed supperior by Team Piffle.

Those principles, while not yet patented, are proprietary and highly secret; though offers for purchase will be considered.

In conclusion; congradulations to team Epsilon on the Dot Map™. I am sure that it is the product of the finest Epsilon thinkers (:beer: ), the product of painstaking research (:badcomp:) and highly effective (:wallbash: ).