From epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk  Mon May  7 11:12:07 2001
From: epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk (Edward Avis)
Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 11:12:07 +0100 (BST)
Subject: [Patents] Patent system not there for inventors' benefit
In-Reply-To: <20010507070801.5870610525@stabilite.aful.org>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.32.0105071103430.27346-100000@owl.doc.ic.ac.uk>

>At this time my income is derived from five patents related to the
>control of electrified monorail systems.  You may view them using the
>link above.  The income is great enough that I no longer need to hold a
>conventional job.

That is lucky for you.  But I should point out that the patent system is
not there to benefit inventors.  It is there to 'promote progress in
science and the useful arts'.  Granting patent rights to inventors or
their employers is just a means to this end.

If software patents had not been available, would you not have written
the software?  If you would have written it anyway, then the extra power
granted by swpats (above what we already have with copyright) is not
needed.

If you can honestly say that without getting patents, the monorail
system software would not have been written (by you or by anyone else),
then in this case software patents have served their purpose.  We then
have to weigh the benefit to society from getting things like the system
you wrote against the cost to society from the threat swpats pose to
small developers and competition.

>Those patents have created over 400 million a year in gross national
>product for the US, half of which is in my state (Michigan).

Er... patents don't themselves create wealth.  I could start charging
people for walking along the road outside my house, that might count as
an increase in GNP, but it would not make the country any richer.

There would be a real economic benefit from swpats in the case where the
system would not have been built without them.  Can you say that?

-- 
Ed Avis
epa98@doc.ic.ac.uk



