Software-patent battle set to flare up

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Somebody's scared alright, but it's not open source people

"No need to re-invent the wheel"

Unless, of course, the wheel is patented =)

"Now is there anywhere in the world that patents have been in place for a long duration? Well, yes there is, the good old USA. Now, has the USA lead the world in innovation and technology? Well, as a matter of fact yes."

Perhaps, but patents are only one part of the system, and several patents have costed the industry a lot of money - for example, the patent on certain web plugins that almost had a big impact on browsers, and costed Microsoft - who practically own the browser market - a lot of money.

"So then, why would anyone not want patents?"

See my responses, quit going through all that anti- open source bull.

"and we all know why open source is terrified of patents"

Enlighten me, please. The only person terrified here is you, with your shrill statements of losing profits because you're taking advantages of loopholes in the patent system yourself. Whenever I point out that patents are designed to give a grace period to allow an inventor to get into the market early, and not as a way to make profits through royalties, all you do is hold your ears and scream "I'M RIGHT, YOURE WRONG!" until you can't hear me anymore.

Yeah, right. The PNG image format has proven that open source software can work with the patent system, and that open source developers are not afraid of patents.

I've dome some looking into patent laws, and all they do is to provide a means of excluding others from using them, they do not seem to make provisions for making a profit through royalties.

Direct from http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/#patent

" The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, ?the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling? the invention in the United States or ?importing? the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the USPTO."

Note that this dos not refer to royalties - patents are a means of exclusion, not as a means of profits through royalties. Royalties are an agreement to use the patented invention by paying for it, but don't seem to actually be a part of petent laws.

Posted by: CobraA1   Posted on: 10/29/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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