From Bernard Lang <Bernard.Lang@inria.fr>  Sun Jan  6 16:37:31 2002
From: Bernard Lang <Bernard.Lang@inria.fr> (Bernard Lang)
Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2002 17:37:31 +0100
Subject: [Patents] Berkeley Would Shut Down Internet if Given the Chance
In-Reply-To: <000601c196c9$1e04aba0$7fb187d9@oemcomputer>; from Nick Fleming on Sun, Jan 06, 2002 at 03:45:06PM -0000
References: <3C380F0A.A1EAA25A@RealMeasures.dyndns.org> <000601c196c9$1e04aba0$7fb187d9@oemcomputer>
Message-ID: <20020106173731.D1391@margaux.inria.fr>

  recall that this is why RMS resigned from MIT.

Bernard


On Sun, Jan 06, 2002 at 03:45:06PM -0000, Nick Fleming wrote:
> Back in the late 80's (I think, not sure) some universities 
> were allowed to fund themselves either in part or totally
> privately rather than rely on state set budgets.
> 
> This effectively turned public funded universities into private
> corporations and they started playing the usual corporate
> games of getting their "employees" to sign away their rights.
> I remember clearly signing a document that said any software
> I wrote remained the sole property of the university I was studying
> at, with no chance of putting anything into the public domain or
> selling privately (student loans are NOT a good idea) to help
> fund my education.
> 
>     When you think about it, if a private company works in partnership
> with a university, with an exclusive licence on anything researched and
> developed , you're effectively working as cheap labour for that
> company, and not necessarily learning skills that you can take with you
> into industry. I may not know much, but that just doesn't seem a good
> way to run an education system to me.
> 
> Curiously, I think the internet would have happened regardless of whether
> unix and TCP/IP were released by Berkley. Like the telephone system, the
> demand and desire to link computers together into a communications tool
> has been an overwhelming - if Berkey didnt do it, someone else would have.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Nick Fleming.
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Patents maillist  -  Patents@liberte.aful.org
> http://liberte.aful.org/mailman/listinfo/patents

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