If you want to use the broadest interpretation, then think on this:

School receptionist: Good morning, City High, can I help you?

Parent (using mobile): Hi, this is Mrs Smith. I was just checking my son is in school. Can you check that for me?

School receptionist: Sorry, I can't reveal that information to you unless you can demonstrate you've paid your Frontline licence fee...

Of course, if any yuppie types in the 80 ever did that, that would be fine prior art.

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J Gautier
To: Chris Puttick
Cc: 'suse-linux-uk-schools@suse.com'
Sent: 2/20/02 1:09 PM
Subject: Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Wireless networks

On Wed, 20 Feb 2002, Chris Puttick wrote:

> It may interest you all to know that under the BromCom (sorry,
Frontline
> Technology) patent, you will now be asked to pay licence fees if your
school
> uses wireless networks to access student data: My favourite quote from
their
> FAQ is the one about if you use a spreadsheet saved over wireless to
collect
> student grades you should pay licence fees...
>
> See www.frontline-technology.com for more info. If you have good press
> contacts, connections with networking companies or lawyer friends, let
them
> know. I for one do not appreciate being told I can't use a wireless
network
> (in my house, school, company...) and look at information about
students I'm
> otherwise legally entitled to without paying someone money.

To really take this seriously, shouldn't any school that might
use a WAN to access student records get written assurance from whoever
provides its telecoms (e.g. BT, NTL) that its data will never be
routed over radio?

This is a sad example of an `invention' that simply ignores sound
design;
it really shouldn't matter how the data is moved.  It's as silly as
patenting file transfer over ISDN.

Bob G