Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on February 01, 2005 10:43 AM
The ideal is, of course, to make software patents illegal. This will not happen, at least in the U.S.
Really? What if the rest of the world continues to reject software patents and Open Source begins to completely dominate the industry. The US will be faced with the choice of either eliminating software patents or becoming irrelevant in the marketplace. By that time, Open Source companies, not the handful of proprietary megacorp bastards we have today, will be the primary voice in Washington.
The alternative is to be sure that our free software does not infringe any patents.
That's not a technically feasible option. Nearly every piece of software in existance infringes on at minimum dozens of patents. (easily hundreds for any large package..) Many patents are so broad or so obvious that they simply cannot be avoided. The only option today is to code as if software patents don't exist. If a problem arises, then you get a lawyer and fight back. If too many developers start getting sued simultaneously, a new voice emerges, people take to the streets in protest, and if necessary, civil disobedience becomes widespread until politicians wake up to reality. None of that has happened yet, so for now the best defense is a strong offense: make Open Source software mainstream so that there are too many people to sue and there is too much power in our numbers.
Learn about Linux
Download Linux
Get Linux help
Re:Remove Patents
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on February 01, 2005 10:43 AMReally? What if the rest of the world continues to reject software patents and Open Source begins to completely dominate the industry. The US will be faced with the choice of either eliminating software patents or becoming irrelevant in the marketplace. By that time, Open Source companies, not the handful of proprietary megacorp bastards we have today, will be the primary voice in Washington.
The alternative is to be sure that our free software does not infringe any patents.
That's not a technically feasible option. Nearly every piece of software in existance infringes on at minimum dozens of patents. (easily hundreds for any large package..) Many patents are so broad or so obvious that they simply cannot be avoided. The only option today is to code as if software patents don't exist. If a problem arises, then you get a lawyer and fight back. If too many developers start getting sued simultaneously, a new voice emerges, people take to the streets in protest, and if necessary, civil disobedience becomes widespread until politicians wake up to reality. None of that has happened yet, so for now the best defense is a strong offense: make Open Source software mainstream so that there are too many people to sue and there is too much power in our numbers.
#