Re: .NET Patents - IPM Inc. - 9/8/98

[ipm@en.com]

Richard Stallman wrote:
> A competent patent office would not have issued even
> one patent for either of them, let alone two patents each.
A competent public is as needed as a competent PTO.
The exchange of IP rights vs. knowledge gained from it's disclosure
implies a relationship between the PTO, public, inventor and the granted
patent document which all play a part in helping the system work. 
Remember, an issued patent can be challenged at anytime by anyone.

>Do they really promote progress, or do they hamper it?
Knowledge inherently promotes progress, but more importantly the pursuit
of knowledge is where real progress begins.

> Should there be software patents at all?
Are you saying that patents, or particularly software patents are
impeding technology, progress, or the free flow of information?
Most of the time, the software in a 'software' patent is a means and not
the end.  An invention and it's teaching must be looked at as a whole to
assess novelty, unobviousness.. The algorithms, methods, and steps
performed to arrive at this whole are not required to be novel nor
unobvious to satisfy the patentability of the invention.

> Critiquing individual trees is useful, but let's not forget that this
> forest is blocking traffic in the middle of the information highway.
What is causing the traffic block?  Schoolyard bullies(patent assignee)
who have the legal right(to exclude others from 'making, using, and
selling') to take away your Internet lunch money?

A tree is an idea, but carving that tree into the arm of a toll booth is
the start of an invention.  What's blocking your journey on the
infobahn? Is there another route? Can you build your own toll both? or
would you just throw in your wooden nickel (left over from the carved
tree) into to the toll.. so you can go on your merry way.. Why are you
so sure you were heading to the right destination anyway??
(pardon my stretch of metaphors)

Cataloging and discourse rather than critiquing is as good as any place
to start to help contribute to a more informed public.

Eric