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Windows vs. Linux: The Patent Tax (Software Freedom Law Center)
Windows vs. Linux: The Patent Tax (Software Freedom Law Center)
Posted Apr 17, 2007 16:42 UTC (Tue) by emkey (guest, #144)Parent article: Windows vs. Linux: The Patent Tax (Software Freedom Law Center)
I'm probably being overly generous to Microsoft, but this certainly puts another potential spin on their acquisition of patents over the past several years. If you have to play in that arena it is very valuable to do so from a position of strength.
The fact that it set them up for a potential attack on Linux and other Open Source software was likely just a nice bonus.
Of course this whole thing just illustrates the absurdity of software patents in general.
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Windows vs. Linux: The Patent Tax (Software Freedom Law Center)
Posted Apr 18, 2007 19:01 UTC (Wed) by martinfick (subscriber, #4455) [Link]
Of course this whole thing just illustrates the absurdity of software patents in general.Software Patents are no more absurd than non software patents, we just happen to be highly aware of the absurdity of software patents because we have domain knowledge in this field and because software happens to have other properties that make the absurdity obvious to a larger crowd, such as the easy sharing nature of software.
Windows vs. Linux: The Patent Tax (Software Freedom Law Center)
Posted Apr 18, 2007 20:07 UTC (Wed) by mikov (subscriber, #33179) [Link]
I am not so sure. Non-software patents are about "aspects of technology that involve concrete laws of physics rather than abstract laws of thought" (quoting from Knuth).
On the practical side, non-software patents typically require significant investment to create and more importantly to implement. For example an ordinary person is not likely to violate a non-software patent in his basement - it is just not feasible.
Patents are about balancing the benefits to society and the inventors. It is not about perfect fairness or freedom, but about allowing society to function. With software patents the balance has shifted unacceptably in one direction, so they no longer serve their purpose.
On the other hand there is no conclusive evidence that patents in general (non-software ones) are detrimental.