[Nottingham] Stopping Software Patents - let us make a difference in 2009 (fwd-ish)

[Martin]

Dear All,

I thought this software patents rubbish had been stopped. Obviously
not... Most websites likely now break a few "software patents" for the
obvious...

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[From John (Surrey LUG)]

I thought all this Euro s/w patent rubbish had already been nailed, but
of course I should have realised that just because something's rejected
once it doesn't mean the lobbyists pack up and go away.  It's going to
be harder and harder to regenerate enthusiasm and keep signing petitions
and objecting to this, so I hope you agree with me it's important to
spread this far and wide.

For those who don't agree with me, ...


http://stopsoftwarepatents.eu/
####

Does anyone disagree? Or strongly agree?


I favour the stance that 'software' is 'discovered' rather than
invented. It is more like a mathematical proof rather than an engineered
'device'. You want the computer (Turing Machine) to do something? Just
put in the optimum (or 'good enough') numbers to make your wish come
true. It is more like writing a 'novel' rather than building bridges in
some new fangled designed constructive way.

There is even a science studying how best to do programming... And there
are branches of mathematics to attempt to 'prove' whether a program does
what you hope it does.

You may as well try patenting business procedures or SOPs!

OK, so I think software patents are a very bad idea for the world.

Open Source should be the way to go!

Any others' thoughts?


Cheers,
Martin


SOP: Standard Operating Procedure (and a bad pun on "to sop, as a sop")

-- 
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Martin Lomas
martin at ml1.co.uk
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