[Gllug] Software patents, Microsoft & free software

[Nick Hill]

A letter I sent to the guardian this morning:

I am a network and internet engineer. I have been following and taking part in the internet since 1992. 

I have recently moved from using Microsoft software (windows, Office etc) to using free, open source software.

The internet has come into existence and grown the way it has without the limitations and costs associated with intellectual property protection. The basic systems and protocols used as components of the internet are freely available in the form of computer source code.

Computer source code is the language used by programmers to write programs computers can understand. Source code is what is written by humans to create software (Programs) like web servers, email systems, web browsers and operating systems (like Linux and Windows).

I have moved from Microsoft software mainly through political reasons. Since using open source software, I have found many practical benefits.

Political reasons:
When I use the term free, I mean open source general public license.

Free software follows the tradition of open and free development. The type of development which let to the explosive growth of the internet. The source code is freely available and anyone is allowed to read it, understand it, modify and distribute new software based on code which someone has already written. The system of open source and free software has led to a large selection of high quality software becoming freely available.

Practical reasons:
Contrary to popular conception and belief, free (Open source/ GNU)  software is more stable and more resilient to virus attack. In fact, more than 60% of servers on the internet run entirely on free software such as Apache web server running on the Linux operating system. The percentage of servers running free software is growing. Many administrators are fed up with viruses and worms which plague non-free email readers (such as Microsoft outlook express) and non-free web servers (Such as Microsoft IIS- Codered Worm, Nimda).

Linux, the popular free operating system, competing against Microsoft windows, has a history of being able to run for long periods without unexpectedly stopping working. It is not unusual for Linux machines seving web sites to run 6 months or a year without intervention. Anyone familiar with Microsoft Windows is also likely to be familiar with features such as the "Blue Screen Of Death" or "BSOD" when the computer unexpectedly stops working and looses the document you are writing. Microsoft Windows also tends to freeze, where the computer stops responding to the mouse or keyboard. 

The world of free and open software is synonymous with the internet. The internet has helped development of free and open software. Free and open software forms the backbone of the internet. 

The free and open software originally written for running the backbone of the internet is ready for the desktop. It is a surprise to many people how much effort and dedication has been put into free software by programmers, who have mostly made no financial gain of their own. Much of it has been a socially-conscious labour of love. I really feel I want to contribute to help those who have helped me. 

As with anthing else, free software is under attack from many directions. Most notably, free software is attacked by the recent decision of the U.S patent office to accept software patents. There has been a great deal of rallying against software patents in Europe. Sofware patents are seen as a way for corporations to destroy free software. Free software cannot remain free if patent licenses have to be negotiated and granted.

There are many arguments abound at the benefits and costs to society of software patents. 

The cost of creating a new software process is small. In fact, most programmers through the process of making even a simple program, will create (and possibly destroy in re-writing) software processes which are patentable. 

Given a description of how a program should work, any competent computer programmer will create logical software processes and steps to create the final program, a bit like an science-fiction authour will put together sentences and meanings to produce a novel. A novel is, of course, copyrighted much like computer programs are copyrighted.

With a system of software patents, a programmer will no longer be free to exercise his art in writing programs. The costs of verifying a program against libraries of patented material would be huge and out of reach for all but the most prosperous of organisations. 

If a programmer was not part of a large, rich organisation, he would need to keep his code secret (or closed source) to make it less likely he will be sued for patent infringement. Could you imagine a novel writer being sued for using a series of sentences which are grammatically similar to sentences that have been patented?

Patent law was originally formulated to encourage the publishing of technology in exchange for a period of monopoly over the technology. Software patents will do exactly the opposite. They will prevent the publishing of software source code, the only form of software intelligible to man, through fear of the author being sued. Software patents will kill free software development and put control of software firmly in the hands of very rich corporations.

For more information and to petition against software patents, please see http://petition.eurolinux.org/

Please feel free to publish this piece either in whole, or in part, whilst kept in context. 


Best Regards

Nick Hill.

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