Dustin: You have a real talent for distillation of complicated ideas. Brevity is the sole of wit, and as Ben Franklin said in many different manners, a man's demonstration of wit defines his ability to shape his environment.
No allegories, no examples, no similes - just an obsidian blade to the core of the issue. Politics would likely get you killed, but I see a great future for you in practical business. You have a keen grasp of the pertinent. I always enjoy reading your input. If we could mind meld you, Roddy and John we could... Well, on further thought, never mind. Mothra with a conscience and the ability to convince the Japanese they actually want to have Tokyo flattened would probably be a bad thing. Still, I do enjoy your sense of the applicable and germain. Not that my opinion matters, but I do try to applaude when I enjoy a good show. Be well. Doug --- Dustin Puryear <dpuryear at usa.net> wrote: > This is semi-political, so when I have the new list > up it will go there. > > Eric, you are right. Patents are used as weapons. I > don't doubt that for a > second. (Do note that I'm not limiting myself to > software patents here.) The > quesiton though is this: Is there a better way? > Without patents, many, if > not most, innovative ideas will remain inside a > company as a trade secret. > We will have to rely entirely on people reverse > engineering implementations > to get to the original idea. Every idea! Even if at > the time there was no > solid commercial interest to reverse engineer. > Otherwise, when an inventor > or company disappears then society loses that new > idea. > > That's very risky to me. > > The whole basis for a patent is that we, as a > society, would rather grant an > inventor a temporary monopoly than risk losing a lot > of innovative ideas > because they were retained as trade secrets and not > properly documented for > public use after a patent expired. > > A patent is just an incentive for a company to > release a trade secret to the > public. Sure, companies are going to use patents as > weapons, and we > certainly need to correct patent law, but the basic > premise is good in my > opinion. > > --- > Puryear Information Technology, LLC > Baton Rouge, LA * 225-706-8414 > http://www.puryear-it.com > > Author of "Best Practices for Managing Linux and > UNIX Servers" > Download your free copy: > http://www.puryear-it.com/bestpractices.htm > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Eric G Ortego > To: General at brlug.net > Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 4:20 PM > Subject: Re: [brlug-general] to release or not to > release,intellectual > retentiveness. > > > > > On 10/9/05, Dustin Puryear <dpuryear at usa.net> wrote: > Patents and copyrights have different objectives. > You can't really lump both > into a single argument. Patents serve to expose > trade secrets so that they > aren't lost if an inventor dies or a company goes > belly-up and also > releasing new ideas into the wild after some set > time, while copyrights > serve to deter, well, the ability to copy a given > work. > > > On Patents: > They might serve that purpose but they are actually > a grant of a property > right. > And if you will, the right of shoot to kill If I see > you on my land, should > you "choose" to trespass. > > My grandfather, who was a fisherman most all of his > life, applied for a > patent on an innovative invention of his (called it > the ding-a-ling). He ran > trout lines when fishing bayous, and floating lines > when in lakes. His idea > was forged from the mess that would occur when > picking up the lines and > allowing the hooks to entangle themselves within the > string. Instead of > using some of the costly devices that would let you > slide each hook into a > sort of hook closet on a rail trying to keep the > stringer all nicely wound, > he created thousands of little hook sheaths made > with pieces of tube and > drinking straws. Simply slide the hook into the tube > then push the straw > into place to secure the hook in. This way he could > just throw the entire > stringer into a bucket and hang the hooks on the > edge. When re-running the > lines he just had to find one end and run the line, > un-sheath the hooks > while baiting. Didn't hook himself nearly as often, > he said. His patent was > denied because of existing patents. Seeing as how he > had spent a lifetime > fishing(he was about 60 when he made the first > bunch) without having ever > seen such a thing I conclude that it had to be > original, innovative, and the > previous idea certainly wasn't in the wild. > > > > > I'm on the fence when it comes to software patents. > I certainly see an abuse > of patents right now. > > How about in the future? Gene patenting! Yay... > > http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1013_051013_gene_patent.htmlFTA:"Whilethisdoesnotquiteboildown > to [the patent holders] owning ourgenes > theserightsexcludeus fromusingour genes for those > purposes thatarecoveredinthepatent,"Perhaps > weshouldshorten software > patentstosomethingthatworksbetterLike 0.(But > Icertainlysupport the idea of apatent > inmostotherrealms.)Why should a > cleanroomimplementation ofsomething > similarbeintheviolation of such apropertyright?Why > then whenthepatenteddevice/ideaisn't being > manufactured,sold,ortalked about? Isupposethislends > to thedefence of acleanroomimplementation but it > Idon't thinkitprevents > theholderfromwastingtheir(enemies?) time > andresources.Patentsarebecomingtheloadedweapons.1) > patent2) wait3) sue &Profit!Why > shouldsomepatentgovernmentdecidewhat is and > isn'tinnovative?How could theyevenknow? Idon't think > thatathink tank likeGoogle coulddo an > accurateenoughjob.Theway I see itpatentsserve > toadvance greed.Money is only worthwhatvalue wegive > it. IMHOtimeandknowledge arepriceless.I think that > wearecausingwastes oftimeandpromoting limits to > knowledgebyallowingtoday'sscientists,educators,andcraftsmen > to burden theirsuccessorswithmonetaryvalues > onarchaictheory,ideas, and tools.I don't like > patentsatall, Iunderstandthereasoningbehind > themIsimplythinktheyarebadideas._______________________________________________GeneralmailinglistGeneral at brlug.nethttp://brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > General at brlug.net > http://brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net > Warmest Regards, Doug Riddle http://www.dougriddle.com "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." - Ambrose Bierce
