Re: [Patents] "Further technical effect"

[James Heald <j.heald@ucl.ac.uk>]

Gregory Aharonian wrote:
> 
> James,
>         I would appreciate it if you could email me the source code to
> your computer program that can completely accurately translate one
> human language to another.  I find it amazing, and want to praise you
> in the extreme, that you were able to write such a computer program
> with no experimentation, no scientific research into how the brain
> handles language, to be able to write such a program without doing all
> of the science and engineering activities that lead to patentable
> inventions.  I think you also deserve further praise for freely making
> available such software for others have spent, and be willing to pay,
> hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more.  Somehow, using your
> artistic skills, you were able to write such a computer program, that
> you had no ideas in mind when you wrote the computer program (a good
> thing not to have, since ideas are not copyrightable in any form),
> but rather could automatically express this computer program. Amazing.
> 
>         On behalf of the world, I thank you.
> 
> Greg Aharonian


Greg,

I don't think it was *me* who was basing their position against software
patents on the claim that software creation required no knowledge or
experimentation about the outside world.

My distaste is based on the analysis that sw pats would (on balance)
reduce innovation, create a much more uncertain environment for
developers, promote monopolies, lock out open-source, and restrict
self-expression; all to no good purpose.

Best regards,

    James.