Instructions to unsubscribe from this list at the end of the message - --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi all,
as a representative of an SME based in Malta who spends quite a lot of money and time on pure R&D (Maltalinks is probably one of the only -- if not the only -- such companies in Malta) I have mixed feelings about software patents. On one hand (the negative one), patents can stifle innovation by increasing the cost of development, and patent offices sometimes give non-sensical/too broad patents to companies. This applies more to business method patents rather than software ones (like the 1-click). To be fair to courts, Amazon's 1-click patent for ex. has always almost lost in court whenever Amazon tried to enforce the patent -- i.e. having a patent does not mean much as long as it is not easily defensible in court. On the other hand, patents actually BENEFIT SMEs -- since a small company with a patent in hand can extract money much more easily from a larger one rather than the other way round. A case in point is Eolas vs. Microsoft. Also, if I spend money developing new technology, why should not I get my money+profit back for it? And be protected by legal means? Copyright does not provide adequate protection for software and this is also the view of both the US and the EU. The last point is that companies who are championing open source, like IBM, have found ways of reconciling open source with patents in a fair manner (more or less it goes like: patent R&D and charge only for advanced technology that can be offered as a premium add-on to basic functionality offered as open source). So patents can be seen either as a source of evil or a blessing -- depending upon the attitude. I would be interested to know the opinion of people on this list. Regards, Angelo Dalli CEO, Maltalinks Ltd. http://www.maltalinks.com ________________________________________________________________ Sent through the WebMail system at maltalinks.com - --------------------------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the linux mailing list. If you do not wish to continue receiving this mailing list, please send a mail message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing only the text "unsubscribe linux" ------------------------------
