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Things We Could Do Without: Software Patents

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NeilS:
The bit I consider to be idealistic is the notion that reform, even in moving to a system which many people agree is more sensible, is without consequences.

I don't have any doubts that having patents with shorter lifespans and reduced scope would be a better solution, had it been introduced a long time ago. What I do have serious doubts about is how quickly things can change from the position we find ourselves in currently, and how far it can realistically go.

There's so much invested in the current system (in terms of big business relying on its current form) that radically altering it simply cannot be consequence free. Whether the consequences will be dire or merely "problematic", I'm not sure anyone can say with any real confidence.

Although there are quite a few differences between European and US patents, I don't think they are as great as many people might think. A lot of the rules that would seem to make it harder to obtain software patents in Europe can be worked around to some extent. The situation might be better, but it's far from the "idealistic" goal.

JavaJones:
I say make the change and let the chips fall where they may. It's no more frightening than many of the other world-threatening problems we face today, from nuclear war to running out of oil to pollution to population and hunger and on and on. I say bring it on! :D

- Oshyan

NeilS:
You know, you could be right. With all the other stuff going on, maybe we wouldn't even notice any of the problems it might cause. :)

mouser:
New film about absurdity of software patents: http://patentabsurdity.com/index.html

zridling:
Great find, mouser.
___________________________________
Glyn Moody says it so much better than I could:



"Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that I write a lot about software patents. The reason is simple: they represent probably the greatest single threat to free software, far beyond that of any individual company. If software patents are invoked more widely, or – even worse – unequivocally accepted in Europe, then free software will be in serious trouble (so will traditional software, but at least the companies involved will be able to pay for lawyers, unlike most free software projects.) This makes fighting software patents one of the key tasks for the free software community.
...
"What that boils down to is that the Internet makes collaboration so easy and efficient that the benefits of sharing knowledge openly now outweigh any economic or social advantages that traditional intellectual monopolies like patents based on hoarding knowledge may once have had.

"The case against software patents is even stronger than against general patents, because software consists of algorithms, which are simply mathematics, and all patenting regimes accept that pure knowledge should not be patented (but then use various tricks to sneak software patents through anyway). Similarly, software is unusual in that it consists of many smaller, pre-existing elements put together in new ways: if any of those basic building blocks have been patented, it becomes almost impossible to code."

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