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Software patents
Apr. 16th, 2012 02:34 pm"It's lunatic's policy to allow patents to cover software features or software techniques. One large program can contain thousands of ideas. Allowing patents to restrict the use of those ideas is beginning for gridlock, and it should be no surprise that we see people blaming each other. We have to ask what kind of harm they do, what price does society pay for this supposed incentive to publish useful ideas? In software, the pice imposed by the patent system is tremendous since large programs combine so many ideas into one program",- said Richard Stalman, president of the Free Software Foundation.
"There are groups that file patent reexaminations against such patents, and the programming community is in a good position to find prior art for attacking such patents in the patent office, which is less expensive than doing so in court. There are also new post-grant challenge procedures that should be implemented by the patent office later this year, if things go according to schedule, under AIA. It would certainly make sense for companies or organizations that believe strongly in freedom from software patents and (free software) to set aside some funds and organize members to identify objectionable software patents, and to chalenge them at the patent office",- said Christopher Rourk, a partner at the Jackson Walker law firm.
"There can't be a shield against patents. All we can do with our copyright-based licenses is impos the choice that a program will die rather than become non-free. We call this the "liberty or death" clause. If free software were to be turned into non-free software because of a patent , that would be worse than if we had not written it at all. Sp we can save our programs from a fate worse than death-that is, being instruments to subjugate people. The best thing software developers can do to overcome the ill effects of software patents is to lobby against them. Join to pressure for the abolition of software petents. That's the long-term solution. People should take a look at nosoftpatents.org to see why software patents should be abolished",- said Richard Stalman.
"There are groups that file patent reexaminations against such patents, and the programming community is in a good position to find prior art for attacking such patents in the patent office, which is less expensive than doing so in court. There are also new post-grant challenge procedures that should be implemented by the patent office later this year, if things go according to schedule, under AIA. It would certainly make sense for companies or organizations that believe strongly in freedom from software patents and (free software) to set aside some funds and organize members to identify objectionable software patents, and to chalenge them at the patent office",- said Christopher Rourk, a partner at the Jackson Walker law firm.
"There can't be a shield against patents. All we can do with our copyright-based licenses is impos the choice that a program will die rather than become non-free. We call this the "liberty or death" clause. If free software were to be turned into non-free software because of a patent , that would be worse than if we had not written it at all. Sp we can save our programs from a fate worse than death-that is, being instruments to subjugate people. The best thing software developers can do to overcome the ill effects of software patents is to lobby against them. Join to pressure for the abolition of software petents. That's the long-term solution. People should take a look at nosoftpatents.org to see why software patents should be abolished",- said Richard Stalman.
