From ramon@jl1.quim.ucm.es  Fri Feb 16 16:07:15 2001
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 17:07:15 +0100
From: Ram'on Garc'ia Fern'andez ramon@jl1.quim.ucm.es
Subject: [Patents] This debate is becoming too focused on triviality.

I see that this debate is being very focused with the problems of trivial
patents. I disagree that only trivial patents are a problem.

Take, for example, the case of the compression patent
5,049,881. Before the granting of this patent, software developer Ross
Williams independently invented the same method and published
it. Thus, the society has gained nothing by granting this patent: we
would have the same invention for free anyway.

My conclusion is that patents should be granted only when the
incentive of the monopoly is necessary, for example, when there is a
difficult research behind the invention.

(Example provided by Richard Stallman, though I do not agree with him
in everything. http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/patent-reform-is-not-enough.html)

Ramon




