Hacking through the Software Patent Thickets

Watch this video :

http://patentabsurdity.com/watch.html

I suggest that the "abuses" that we all recognize with software patents are alive and well in everything about patents in general, its just easier for us to see in software patents.

Every argument against software patents is an argument against the patent system itself.

It is a left-over of 18th century merchantilism. Abolish patents entirely.

Without patents, there's no incentive for the "little guy" to come up with anything new - there's no protection for him from being ripped off by the "big guy".

Here's a couple of very valid examples on why patents can be of benefit to the little guy: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5070829.html http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5791062.html

Are "little guys" still coming with new things? All the time - I've worked with a semi-retired patent attorney in SW FL who specializes in filing patents for "Mom 'n' Pop" operations. Before he retired, he was an engineer-turned-attorney working for GM.

Abolishing patents altogether is tantamount to throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

"Abolishing patents altogether is tantamount to throwing out the baby with the bathwater."

Fair statement, if you believe that the benefits outweigh the costs.

I do not.

Darren: That argument would be valid, if it were not for the fact that your "big guy" spends a chunk of his time registering patents for any manner of absurd thing, and "little guy" will probably find that his new thing is already covered by a wad of patents.

I thought this was very interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL2FOrx41N0

Johanna Blakely: Lessons from fashion's free culture

Quoting:Every argument against software patents is an argument against the patent system itself.

Definitely not true, you should read the part about 'computing theory for laywers' on Groklaw (gus3 linked to it). There's a border one can draw between what a Turing machine can do, and what it can't.

The part in the "patent absurdity" video about the 'compability calculation' clearly shows this is an abstract idea one can do with a Turing machine.

So the thing is, most method / software patents are about stuff which you can do with a Turing machine, while lots of other patents aren't. Building a waferstepper is not something a Turing machine is able to do.

Quoting:there's no protection for him from being ripped off by the "big guy".

Which goes for all mathematicians, there's no patent so no incentive for them? That's why they are paid by universities, which in turn are paid by the state and enterprises.

Meaning, if you are not under 'IP protection', there are still ways to earn money. As a result, problems only arise, if there is no alternative way of earning money without IP protection, or if some fellow doesn't want to work the rest of his life after he had an idea.

quote from Roy Van Rijn :

Quoting:This scared me a bit, why are they emailing me? I've written some code (100% my own) and implemented my own methods for matching music. There are some key differences with the algorithm Shazam uses.

The code isn't published yet, but I was planning on releasing it under Apache License to the open source community soon.

It was never my intension to release this commercially, I'm just a programmer who likes to work on technical, mathematical algorithms in his spare time. And if enough people ask for the source code, I'd be happy to give it to them. Who would have thought that creating something at home in a weekend could result in a possible patent infringement!?

Just to be sure I asked them confirmation that the email was indeed sent from their company. And second, I'd like to know which patents are in play. Because I just couldn't think that something this easy (music-fingerprint is a hash, and we do a lookup) can be patented.. Maybe in the States, but in Europe?

I got the following reply from Landmark Digital Services LLC:

http://sites.google.com/site/redcodenl/

Roy Van Rijn is a freeloader who just wants to take without paying for it. The world will come to an end if he is allowed to continue his current practices. Hooray for Landmark Digital Services LLC for being so patriotic.

Bigg, you forgot your sarcasm tags...

I saw the sarcasm tags just fine from my browser - you must need to upgrade, Sander.

Haven't you downloaded the latest vaporware version of IE from Ballmer's Brain, yet?

Quoting:It will be interesting to see how this one develops.

The matter isn't over yet in New Zealand, of course. The next issue will be in ensuring that the guidelines to be developed protecting embedded systems (ie non-abstract inventions with a software component) are strong enough to remove the possibility of software patents by stealth, and NZCS will maintain a very close watching brief on this.

All in all, however, we believe this is great news for software innovation in New Zealand.

http://www.nzcs.org.nz/news/blog.php?/archives/97-.html