Torvalds trashes EU patent proposal

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I've done all of the above

And have worked in the IP field as well. I will state categorically that there has been no evidence proferred that software patenting has in any way contributed to innovation or benefitted the U.S. economy. As the SEC study board points out, software tends to advance in very small increments and is not characterized by the large capital investment and long lead times to implementation that prompted the framers of the Constitution to grant patent powers to the federal government. Indeed, the major software steps were made before the U.S. capitulated to software patenting. Again, going back to the SEC's findings, it is possible that software patents have impeded, rather than promoting innovation.

Just what is it that has led to the depreciation of U.S. patents on the world market? Software patents! The rash of wrongfully issued patents, frivolous lawsuits, backlog and chaos at the PTO are directly traceable to the advent of software patents, for which no person or body has been able to propose a rational system of classification or search. Twenty years ago, you could take a U.S. patent to the bank. Today its value is dramtically lower than that of a European or Japanese patent. It is a valid question whether Europe wants to follow the trail the U.S. office considered itself dragged into.

You can make of this an open source thing all you want, if that is what makes you happy, but what it comes down to is, does software patenting benefit the grantor of the patents, the U.S. taxpayer? Evidence I've seen points squarely to no.

Posted by: IT_User   Posted on: 11/23/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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