[Patents] About publishing before someone tries to patent your idea

[Luc Rogge rol@swing.be]

Hello,

 
Yesterday, I signed the petition against software patents in Europe, on 
eurolinux.org.
 
I browsed that site and many related sites for a couple of hours.
I learned a lot about organizations fighting against software patents around 
the world.
Fighting against existing patents in the USA.
Fighting against coming patents in Europe.

But, besides fighting against the very existence of software patents, what 
can we do?
What can we do before such patents might be forbidden in the USA?
What can we do to minimize the troubles if such patents are allowed in 
Europe, in a very near future?

I read that Stallman once neglected to publish a trick about windowing 
systems because he doesn't feel it was interesting enough, but someone did 
patent the same idea some years later.

So, for me, the obvious answer to my question is:
publish publish publish.
Publish as many ideas, as possible, even trivial and obvious ones.

But publishing is a costly effort.
It requires a lot of energy to write a paper.
It requires a lot of energy to interact with an editor to refine that paper.
It requires a lot of energy and time before being published.

So, what about creating a publication where anyone can write about any idea,
without the constraints of usual newspapers?
Without constraints about the length of the paper.
Without the need to check that the idea has never been published before.
Without the need to make nice page layout, style- and spell checking.

A publication that is not really intended to be read, but only to serve as a 
repository of ideas.
Once those ideas are published, they are not patentable anymore.

But I don't know HOW such ideas must be published to be no more patentable.
 
Must the publication be printed on paper?
We don't need pretty printing; a simple computer print-out may be enough.
 
Must it be sent to the library of congress and similar organizations in 
Europe?
By coordinating efforts between mai organizations around the world, that 
should not be a great problem.

What do the lawyers think about such an idea?

Or, if it already exists (after all, it is an obvious idea),
what about visible links in the main 'programming freedom' sites?


Luc Rogge
Software engineer,
l.rogge@computer.org

Hello,

 

 

Yesterday, I signed the petition against software patents in Europe, on eurolinux.org.

 

I browsed that site and many related sites for a couple of hours.

I learned a lot about organizations fighting against software patents around the world.

Fighting against existing patents in the USA.

Fighting against coming patents in Europe.

 

But, besides fighting against the very existence of software patents, what can we do?

What can we do before such patents might be forbidden in the USA?

What can we do to minimize the troubles if such patents are allowed in Europe, in a very near future?

 

I read that Stallman once neglected to publish a trick about windowing systems because he doesn't feel it was interesting enough, but someone did patent the same idea some years later.

 

So, for me, the obvious answer to my question is:

publish publish publish.

Publish as many ideas, as possible, even trivial and obvious ones.

 

But publishing is a costly effort.

It requires a lot of energy to write a paper.

It requires a lot of energy to interact with an editor to refine that paper.

It requires a lot of energy and time before being published.

 

So, what about creating a publication where anyone can write about any idea,

without the constraints of usual newspapers?

Without constraints about the length of the paper.

Without the need to check that the idea has never been published before.

Without the need to make nice page layout, style- and spell checking.

 

A publication that is not really intended to be read, but only to serve as a repository of ideas.

Once those ideas are published, they are not patentable anymore.

 

But I don't know HOW such ideas must be published to be no more patentable.

 

Must the publication be printed on paper?

We don't need pretty printing; a simple computer print-out may be enough.

 

Must it be sent to the library of congress and similar organizations in Europe?

By coordinating efforts between mai organizations around the world, that should not be a great problem.

 

What do the lawyers think about such an idea?

 

Or, if it already exists (after all, it is an obvious idea),

what about visible links in the main 'programming freedom' sites?

 

 

Luc Rogge

Software engineer,

l.rogge@computer.org