[Patents] Greg upset about "peace, love, linux"

[mva@df.lth.se (Martin Wahlén)]

> So when you argue it is permissible for IBM to get lots of patents because
> everyone else is (some violent analogy about guns you made), that makes
> sense as a defensive strategy - they have lots of bad patents to scare
> off anyone who approaches them with their bad patents.  But once IBM
> starts uses their patent portfolio offensively, asserting patents many
> of dubious validity, that is abusive.

Indeed it is, but is that not what you would do to given the current
status of the patentsystem in the area of Computer Software? As a
buissness they have an obligation to their shareholders to make a profit,
if bad patents can be used to that end then there is a problem with
the system, not the companies using it. Notice that I say using it, not
abusing it. IBM may be a boarder case between using and abusing though.

But I belive that we already agreed on this issue?

Martin