[Patents] Burce Perens: Software Patents vs. Free Software

[srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian)]

Nice spreading a lie, which seems to be the practice on this list, but
when you say "Therefore, can you give a motive why you want to abolish
all patents already no"

you are making a lie of what I am saying.  It is you and the others on
the list who are against all patents, by first attacking software
patents, and then because of their equivalence to software patents,
hardware patents as well.

I am not against all patents.  I am against the artificial and 
non-scientific distinctions being made between "hardware" and :sof
"software".  They have no basis in law, no basis in science, but
are a way to launch a sneak attack against all patents.

Indeed, Hartmut has argued that hardware patents that are little more
than 1-1 implementations of software/algorithms should not be patentable.
I suspect he could then use hardware/software co-design tools to extend
his arguments to be against all hardware patents.

"hardware" and "software" are the "technology" of the "science" of
"mathematics".  Thus allow the patentability of both, or the
patentability of neither, but don't come up with these artificial
distinctions between the two.  And hardware is no more physical
than software, and no more functional, which makes neither eligible
for copyright protection.

Greg Aharonian