[Patents] Re: Software and Technical effect

[rjriley@rjriley.com (Ronald J Riley)]

Greg Aharonian is correct when he makes the point that software and hardware 
are
interchangeable.   I have found that few patent practitioners really 
understand
this, and as a result write patents which are weaker than they could have 
been.

I make product design decisions frequently where I trade off the costs of
implementing in hardware versus doing the same in software.

Beyond that, I think that a patent which claimed both hardware and software
implementations would be much stronger than one which only shows software
examples.

As to the arguments, which seem to be taking on an increasingly petty tone, 
that
software should not be patentable.  Well I note that those who make such
arguments are virtually always those who copy and not those who really create.
So the argument is really being made by those whose skills are inferior.  
Rather
than griping about how a patent ties their hands on implementing a solution 
to a
problem they should be finding an even better solution to that problem and 
file
their own patents, that is if they can.

Since I rarely post to this forum I am including a rather long sig. file so 
that
readers can judge the merits, or lack thereof, of my comments.

Please note that I am responding to the thread in general and not necessarily 
to
specific people.  This is an attempt to avoid antagonizing the fools who need 
to
spend less time resenting those who do create and more time creating 
themselves.
Perhaps if they did this they would have less resentment for those who are
creating.

Ronald J. Riley
1323 West Cook Road
Grand Blanc, MI  48439
(810) 655-8830, Fax (810) 655-8832
Personal Email: rjriley@rjriley.com

President, Professional Inventors Alliance
http://www.rjriley.com/pia/

Advisory Board President,
Alliance for American Innovation, Inc., Wash, DC
(202) 546-8700
http://www.Alliance-DC.org/
Email rjriley@Alliance-DC.org

Founder of InventorEd, Inc.
www.InventorEd.org
rjriley@InventorEd.org

Personal page:
http://www.rjriley.com/about-rjriley/
Views expressed are my own.