[Patents] Patent system run for consumers or producers?

[Gregory Aharonian srctran@world.std.com]

>So if Danzig had patented Simplex you don't think this would have
>hindered the adoption of the general purpose computer.

No.  Do a little computer science history research.  Research a man
and algorithm named Karmarkar (I think that is the spelling).  The
algorithm came out many years ago, and was a signficiant improvement
to Simplex for large problems.  ATT got a patent on the algorithm,
which caused a hugh uproar over the patenting of mathematics and control
of algorithms.  ATT even formed a company to exploit their patent.

What happened?  In a short time, using the inspiration of Karmarkar's
vision, mathematicians came up with equivalent powerful techniques that
did not infringe the ATT patent - they worked around, and in the process
discovered lots of useful mathematics.  No suffering there.  And with
regards to ATT's startup, the only suffering there was with ATT, which
had to shut down the startup because of a lack of sales because of the
workarounds.

Would life have been a bit simpler if ATT never got its patent in the
first place?  Maybe.  But not enough to discard the idea of software
patents.

Greg