[Patents] Re: Software Patents

[Bernard Lang <Bernard.Lang@inria.fr> (Bernard Lang)]

On Fri, Jul 13, 2001 at 12:35:25PM -0400, Gregory Aharonian wrote:

> And at least in the US, as a percetnage of industry sales, software
> patents are having no more of a disruptive effect, than patents in
> other areas of technology.  Biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents,
> and their economic consequences, are a bigger problem, followed by
> digital hardware and electronics patents.  And to date, with regards
> to open source and freedom, the only individual or small entity to be
> sued for using open source software is, ........, Greg Aharonian.
> Since I have gotten zero support in my battle from the open source
> community, I can only conclude that they are lying when they claim to
> be worried about the economic affects of software patents (beyond the
> fact that many are applying for their own software patents on their
> own volition).

I do not know what support you expect, but I am quite willing to help.

So far, all I did was to mention the fact in a paper recently
published, in French.  I disagree with what you say, but I am willing
to fight so that you can say it (Voltaire ... but he wrote in French
too) ... except that it can become very tiresome. :-)

>  So I am skeptical about an economic attack on software
> patents, because my data (which is bigger than yours) shows that the
> disruptions are typical for any new area of technology being patented
> (new in the 20 year sense, patent practice does take a very long time
> to mature).
> 
> Which leaves me always arguing to improve the quality of issued patents,
> all patents not just software, so that the bad crappy patents never
> get issued, people like me are put out of business, and most of these
> controversies (usually due to crappy patents) disappear.  In fact, you
> would think Germans such as Hartmut would want to apply their country's
> association with manufacturing and quality to the patent process (which
> is a manufactuing of sorts).  Issued patents should be Mercedes, not
> Yugos.
> 
> But do please continue to act contrary to these suggestions.  It is more
> business for people like me, for which we thank you effusively.  HaHa.
> 
> Greg Aharonian
> 
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