[bdeutsch]

In my profession (silicon manufacturing), Intellectual Property (IP) is guarded and valued beyond what most of of would consider as being reasonable, yet it is necessary to protect our significant investment in the end product.

Another example that comes to mind that perhaps illustrates the point better is music and video. If a piece of music is written and produced by an artist, is s/he entitled to compensation whenever that music is played or purchased? From my perspective (and only my perspective for this discussion), the answer is yes. Also recognize that there are other opinions on this.

So, at least from my perspective, whether Mr. Shelby personally needs the revenue or not, is not the issue. If the products being sold use any IP initially developed by him or his various companies, he or his legal representatives have the right to protect it. While any of us may not think this is right, it is fundamentally his or his companies IP to share or not share as he deems appropriate.