Stallman unbending on software patents

TalkBack 34 of 84:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

I didn't say easy

I said common sense, or you could replace that with the word obvious. The paperclip and slinky were not common sense or obvious. At least not at the time of the invention, certainly we take them for granted now like most long-expired patented ideas.

I don't disagree with your comment about Stallman, however the reason why I don't like software patents is because the patent office issues patents in many cases where a copyright is more appropriate. Too often patents aren't even applied for until well after they have been in common use, simply because no one applied for one before. Every one of those patent applications should be struck down. And any time a patented idea or product is released to the public by the person or company who applies for the patent without mentioning that a patent is pending, that patent should also be struck down.

I am not against patents, but they must be earned, and a rigid set of rules must be followed by the applicants. And quite honestly the 17 year rule is long outdated. It made sense in the 18th and 19th centuries, but by the mid-20th century it has proven to be far too long to be conducive to innovation. It should be cut in half at least.

Posted by: Michael Kelly   Posted on: 01/18/06 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

• Virtualization: Architectural Considerations And Other Evaluation Criteria VMware Of the many approaches to x86 systems virtualization available in the ... Download Now
• Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Iinfrastructure VMware VMware virtualization software has been adopted by over 120,000 enterprise ... Download Now
• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now