Software patents for newbies (and why they suck)
July 19, 2007 @ 02:44
Software patents are weird.
They are weird because they are unlike pretty much any other form of patent because rather than protecting an specific implementation method they protect a technique. This is akin to having a drug company not patent a particular drug to treat AIDS but patenting “drugs to treat AIDS” meaning if ANY other company came along and produced an AIDS drug they could be sued for a patent violation.
What makes software patents even more insane is that they are sometimes not even used. Using the drug example again, this is similar to not only the company patenting an AIDS drug but not even producing it and STILL suing those who violate their patent.
Free and open-source software has always had a poor relationship with software patents. The vast majority of programmers participating on these projects despise software patents and (rightly) see them both as unethical and stagnating the software industry. This has seen the creation of the GPLv3 license which helps to combat this and also seen Microsoft launch publicity attacks on FOSS accusing them of unspecified patent violations in an effort to discredit the software and the movement.
This is why software patents suck. This is also why I do not support their validity, legally or ethically, and my CV states this.
You can read more about this at http://www.softwarepatents.co.uk/
Posted in Software Development
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