Patents and copyrights are essentially the same in that they allow someone who created something a right to profit from it before anyone else does. The only difference between the two lies in what is being patented or copyrighted. An artistic work (by this I mean literary or musical) that is published or recorded using some means is copyrighted. Inventive work on the other hand is patented when specific techniques borne out of a concept is applied to the creation of some product or process. Thus, although both are creative works, it is the subject matter being protected that determines whether a copyright or patent should apply.
In the case of software, the technique (which is represented by the source code) used to compress an image, for example, would be patented. If the code were published, that published work would fall under a copyright. In both cases, it is the specific application of an idea into something tangible that is patented or copyrighted, not the idea or concept. Software patents, I believe, are necessary. Whether or not it will stifle any progress in the industry will always be subject to debate. In any case, software is created work. It did not just miraculously appear out of thin air. A person creating something has the right of an owner and is therefore entitled to the same kind of protection a state gives to all persons who own property. It is really up to them to decide whether or not the rest of us benefit from their work by either keeping it to themselves or by letting the whole world know about it. -------------------------------------- Registered Linux User #376704 Debian GNU/Linux 3.0r4 Die dulci freure. -- Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List plug@lists.q-linux.com (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph . To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug . Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie
