On 12 Dec 2006 14:20:13 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Thompson, Steve , SCI TW) wrote:
>Patents for software have become WRONG. The longer I'm in this >profession, the stronger this professional opinion is (not as a lawyer, >but as a software developer). As more and more people say this, software developers should consider the possibility that the laws may be changed. When we patent code, it will be available for all to see - and if the patent is invalidated, it will still be public. That won't matter for basic concepts such as one-click purchasing - but for other applications, we may wish we had the code as trade-secrets. Software has also impacted our concept of "look and feel". This can be things such as having the accelerator on the right and the brake on the left, both operated by your foot. If changes are coming, however someone defines your new screen as infringing on your competitor's old screen can change. (Or when we move to a different vendor - and ask to make our screens work like our old vendor's screens). The trouble is - what will we need to have as guidelines? Who will enforce them? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
