On Sun, Sep 04, 2005 at 05:10:31AM -0700, Mel wrote: > Briefly: What is "Software Patent" legislation? Traditionally, software has not been covered by patent law. I presume this is because software can be considered as a "mathematical algorithm", which was never covered by patent law in the first place.
> Briefly: what are its adverse effects. I think the biggest adverse effect is generality. Under copyright law: somebody could make a word processor, even if the word processor was invented by somebody else. The only issue is that they cannot duplicate the code, and presumably the interface, of the original invention. Under patent law, if the original inventer patented the word processor, nobody else could make a word processor unless they licensed the rights from the patent owner. It strikes me that software has more in common with an invention than a novel or movie, so it should be patentable. That said, there are SERIOUS DEFICIENCIES to the current patent system. For example: patents are too general. I like to say that if the paperclip was invented today, it would be patented as a "mechanism for affixing several piece of paper". As such it would cover every shape of paperclip, as well as staples, binders, and glue. That is to say, patents should be for specific inventions and not general concepts (like "one-click shopping"). Also, the "mathematical algorithm" parts has to be reenforced and supplemented with an inability to patent data structures. This serves two purposes: it protects people who want to do mathematics and computer science research, and it protects consumer rights. The latter is important because a company like Microsoft could patent the Microsoft Word file format and prevent people from creating a simple mechanism for switchig to a competing product. Taken to the level of the filesystem and network protocols, Microsoft could make it virtually impossible to switch to a competing product -- period. I know that there are people who would argue that a piece of software is a mathematical algorithm from top to bottom, but that doesn't quite strike me as true. That would be akin to saying that a (somehow unique) hammer is unpatentable because it is made of wood and steel (ie. the constituent parts are unpatentable). Anyhow, enough rambling. Byron. -- System6 is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 123Inkjets.com <http://lowendmac.com/ad/123inkjets.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> System 6 Heaven <http://www.euronet.nl/users/mvdk/system_6_heaven.html> System6 info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/system6.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:system6@mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/system6%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deals www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
