Re: [Patents] "Betrayal of physics"

[Gregory Aharonian <srctran@world.std.com>]

Christian asks:
>A simple question to test your assertion that information is physical.
>You say you want to prevent bad patents by raising the inventive step
>requirement. By how much 5 inches or 10?
>I'm sure this question poses no problem since information is physical
>and can be quantified in the same way as physical substance.

Christian,
        It is obvious from your question that you hold physics and law
in contempt and have little interest in taking these issues seriously.
That said, let me try answering your question.
        The physical has many aspects to it, including dimension, like
your silly suggestion to raise inventive step for software patents by
"5 inches or 10", or in your case, 3 inches.
        There is, however, a much more important physical aspect of
information, energy expenditure, defintely a physical quantity.  Each
transformation of a bit of information requires energy.  So much energy
is being used in the fastest microprocessors that they are in danger
of overheating to the point of not working.
        So as one potential view of inventive step, one could require
that to be patentable, a new software algorithm has to demonstrate
some reduction in energy consumption, either by reducing energy
consumption in an existing fielded software application, or by saving
energy by displacing energy expenditures using other technology.
        So if you were to change the patent laws of the world to require
some such standard for all technologies, including software, I am sure
that some forms of software would be able to meet such a physical
criteria.

Greg Aharonian