[Mono-list] I need help with FUD

[Luke B]

So who's active in the campaigning? This is seriously something we need to
remedy now. I've been thinking about this since it came up here in response
to my questions, and its an incredibly timely issue, we need 21st century
legislature for protecting software. This whole "I combined the words in
that sentence first so now you can't say it" thing is obviously bad for
developers (proprietary and open source) as well as progress and the economy
in general.

Its about more than software. Its about the productive synergy of public and
private interests. We should be able to write software in the same way that
scientists have published discoveries for centuries, in a way that benefits
the public without fear of having it removed from the public's control in
the name private greed. Where would we be if Newton patented Calculus and
charged people for using it? The enlightenment would never have happened.
And I'm getting this from Greenspan here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2918691.stm

So if there was ever a time for this, its right now. We saw the whole
paradigm of the private feeding on the public at work in creating this vast
and sweeping economic failure we are all experiencing, beyond what
Greenspans points out about patents. And the alternative of having to swing
to some kind of overly public framework, history has shown does not work as
well. So the cooperation between public and private on this is a must, and
the US government is now well aware of this fact, as a matter of necessity
not political opinion.

Anyway, this is turning into a rant, but I had to say it. This is THE issue
of our time, and if somebody gets this figured out it will unleash vast
positive economic forces. And the answer is there, the answer that will
balance regaining R&D costs with the public value of the discovery.

Rant off. :)


> Very well said. I agree with everything you have said. The problem is
> not Mono or any other software project its that  Patent Law is broken.
> They are allowing the Patenting of something that fundementally
> shouldn't be Patentable. Its the equivalent of allowing parts of the
> English language to patentable. Imagine where comedy & literature
> would be if someone held a patent on Metaphors.
>
> Thankful I live in a country where software patents aren't allowed
> (for the time being at least). But its still a problem for me since I
> don't want any US customers being sued by Patent Trolls or one of the
> big software companies.
>
> The only solution to Software Patents its too keep up the campaigning.
> Hopefully as the pro software patent companies keep getting stung by
> these trolls, eventually they will have to reverse there lobbying and
> join the anti software patent camp. Perhaps then the governments will
> finally wake up to the issue.
>
>
> Charlie M
>
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