[sclug] Richard Stallman in The Guardian

[lug at assursys.co.uk]

On Sun, 8 Jun 2003, Antony Bartlett wrote:

> > > Not that the software issues aren't important, and yet, however
> ridiculous
> > > the idea that source code can be subject to patents might seem to many
> > > programmers, myself included, and no matter how much more throughly
> > > ridiculous business processes such as Amazon's patented one-click
> > > purchasing might seem:... I doubt that it is putting lives at risk.
> 
> > I can foresee issues where the openness of software is a concern - for
> > example, the Chinook helicopter crash in 1994 has been blamed on the
> > software by some <http://www.cw360.com/Article22613.htm>. Given how
> > pervasive embedded controllers are these days, I can foresee similar
> > accusations relating to medical equipment and engine management units in
> > automobiles.
> 
> Patents are "open" in the sense of being available for public
> scrutiny and peer-review.  That's not the reason why they're "open" - it's
> more to do with placing limits on the time that an inventor can exploit
> her or his invention, and ensuring that the inventors secrets don't die
> with them, but it seems to me that in theory at least, that particular
> purpose and public interest should be well served by the system.
> (though in practice, I expect the wording of patents tends to be designed to
> give as little away as possible and generally make life difficult for anyone
> trying to copy the invention, and consequently difficult to review).

That, and I've heard it said that corporate attorneys often advise "techies"
to avoid reading existing patents to look for ideas and inspiration, as the
penalties are that much greater if you're found guilty of "wilful
infringement" than normal infringement. I've come to the conclusion that for
anything other than physical devices (e.g. a spring-loaded dog catapult,
with novel built-in self-greasing mechanism) patents are pretty much broken
and copyright protection should suffice.

>     Best regards,
>         Antony.

Best Regards,
Alex.
-- 
Alex Butcher      Brainbench MVP for Internet Security: www.brainbench.com
Bristol, UK                      Need reliable and secure network systems?
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