Sprucing up open source's GPL foundation

TalkBack 14 of 34:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Short lesson in economics

Let's start with the whole patent thing itself - a patent is a temporary monopoly on an idea, and any product - whether copied or not based on that idea.

[quote]because they keep competitors from simply copying an idea, yes[/quote]

I hate to break it to you but there's no basis for your claim that the idea was copied - the idea could, in fact, not be copied, but so long as it fits the patent, it violates the patent.

Also, we have restrictions on patents - and for a good reason - our economic system is built on competition, and a monopoly can exert control over a market, nullify the competition, and tear apart its role in the economic system. It could be very destrucive. Therefore, we limit the length of the monopoly, so as to limit the potential for abuse.

[quote]But they are also valuable when a company does not make a product at all, but licenses the patent to another company which has advantages in manufacturing and marketing.[/quote]

You are forgetting the big picture - valuable to who? Why are we considering only the companies involved? Are not the consumers involved also, and the competition? Have you thought about how this might affect the consumers? Economics does not, never did, and never will, live in a vaccuum. An economic system that does not consider all who are affected will destroy itself.

[quote]An idea is still created and a reward is obtained. Is there something intrinsically wrong with that?[/quote]

Yes. We are not supposed to be mind controllers, and tell people they can or can't come up with and implement ideas. Rewarding ideas is good, but stifling them is not. We are supposed to supposed to support an economic system with checks and balances, with Adam Smith's invisible hand. We are not supposed to support an economic system where there are no checks on the prices (or royalties or licences).

In my opinion, we do not have the best patent system. It can be improved. We should re-think it, and overhaul it. We should not be afraid of change, especially change for the better.

Posted by: CobraA1   Posted on: 12/27/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More? A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency VMware Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now
• Busting the myths about QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions and IBM Smart Business IBM So you already know there aren't actually any alligators in the New York ... Download Now