[Patents] Re : Hypothetical Example.

[Nick Fleming marmalade@x-stream.co.uk]

> Software patents work to exactly the opposite ends of normal patents: to
> promote secrecy in technology.

> -phm

Glad to see someone else thinks that software patents restrict things ! This
is the point I was trying to make. 

There was also the point to withholding the source code. In an ideal
world, all programs would come with the source code (and documentation:-)
However, and please- I mean no disrespect to the open source
community whatsoever, but in the fifteen years or so I've been
programming, the vast majority of it is not of publishable quality and
many companies are simply reluctant to give the code away. I wanted my
example to be rooted in reality as much as possible - which means no source
code given away.  Sorry for any confusion.

Forcing the source to be available with the patent is not a solution, as it 
may
be in another language to the one you use. (BabelFish doesnt do source code
translations yet - anyone want to patent that idea ? :-) This is an additional
problem for Europe that the U.S. does not have, see the Green Paper on the
Community Patent and the patent system for more info.

The only conclusion I can find that is acceptable, is to leave things as they
are and not allow software patents. (Until global harmonisation of patent laws
requires that we follow the same legal model as the US and Japan.)

Nick.