Software Patent: No Software Patents

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»Software Patent: No Software Patents

In a case at the Supreme Court, Microsoft is arguing that patents granted in the US cannot be held overseas if the country does not allow the type of patent (software). <a href="http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS3644018018.html">A free software group agrees and goes one step further, they say that software patents in the US violate a precedent set by the Supreme Court itself</a>. Hopefully these things will abolish software patents once and for all.

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The SFLC explains in its brief that its unlikely championing of Microsoft's cause in this case is because the "SFLC has an interest in this matter because the decision of this Court will have a significant effect on the rights of the Free and Open Source Software developers and users." In its brief, SFLC argues that software copied and distributed outside the U.S. cannot infringe U.S. patents. The brief also argues that the Federal Circuit's decisions declaring software to be patentable subject matter conflict with Supreme Court precedent, and thus should be overruled.

Please add your comments below.

I don't mind software patents, I honestly don't, but it's the idea. In this dumbass country, where the majority of people in power are to technignorant, this stuff has gone way too far, expecially two points. First, the DMCA; my god, if only the put a retro-active clause so Apple, IBM, Sun and Berkley could sue Microsoft, everything would even itself out. In fact! an earlier draft had it, and "lobby representing Northwest business' interest" got that ripped out of there!

Second, software patents are like real world patents! Holyshit! Think about that. In the past 13 years, the midgetiest patent you can get in many sectors (.gif was 23 years, twenty three), how much has software changed. 1994....Windows95 hadn't even come out yet! The closest thing to flash was scripted images! The W3C was wwwc.org and couldn't even have imagined Cascading Style Sheets. Immersive gaming meant when you clicked to get to a point, you turn around and look in 180* circle to see that everything from visible from that one point. Most games, you had to click to look in four direction. We've moved beyond LightMaps today and yet...not even in existence as a gaming tool.

I think for a patent there should be three points: A) you have to have made it and be the only one with a functional (not just in demo vapour ware functional) version, B) It has to be a major step away from where anyone else was going, like three or four generations ahead of thinking, and C) It should only last 2 years and you can't re-apply an immediatly related piece of software later, as in, the two years of development you got to use ahead of everyone else.

I haven't really decided on how to restructure RAND for a combination of fairness to the development entity and everyone who needs to work with that software directly or indirectly.

The current Gates-Valenti style of abuse of IP should be (and in many countries, is) outlawed.