patent question

[cheng-ann tan <chengann@singnet.com.sg>]

hi, all:

i did a patent search on the net and came across emc's
patent (5996024) which describes using scsi devices
over network protocols. it covers ip, of course.

pardon my ignorance, but if a patent has already been 
granted, how would this affect further work on i-scsi,
ip storage, etc?

-cheng