If the U.S. Patent Office does what it has said it will do, companies using the Internet for computer-to-computer international trade will have to pay a royalty fee to Ed Pool. Mr. Pool, 45 years old, hails from this tiny lakeside . . .
If the U.S. Patent Office does what it has said it will do, companies using the Internet for computer-to-computer international trade will have to pay a royalty fee to Ed Pool. Mr. Pool, 45 years old, hails from this tiny lakeside hamlet. In the early 1990s, during a brief fling at importing goods from Russia, he commissioned a software program to help with logistical problems. He later applied for a patent based on the software, covering the computerization of the entire trade process, including the creation of customs declarations and shipping documents, along with services such as insurance and letters of credit.

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