Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!ccu.umanitoba.ca!herald.usask.ca!alberta!ubc-cs!uw-beaver!mit-eddie!wuarchive!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!shelby!unix!garth!fouts@bozeman.ingr.com (Martin Fouts) From: fouts@bozeman.ingr.com (Martin Fouts) Newsgroups: comp.org.usenix Subject: Re: The chilling effect of software patents Message-ID: <19@garth.UUCP> Date: 13 Feb 91 17:37:40 GMT References: <3735:Feb822:24:5991@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> <10957@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> <7802:Feb910:14:3891@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> <1991Feb9.231111.27665@zoo.toronto.edu> Sender: fouts@garth.UUCP Organization: INTERGRAPH (APD) -- Palo Alto, CA Lines: 38 In-reply-to: henry@zoo.toronto.edu's message of 9 Feb 91 23:11:11 GMT >>>>> On 9 Feb 91 23:11:11 GMT, henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) said: Henry> In article <7802:Feb910:14:3891@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein) writes: >The best solution would be for the LPF to push through legislation >eliminating these patents permanently. Henry> I'd rather see a shortening of patent length and a loosening of Henry> terms than a complete ban. The alternative to patents, all too Henry> often, is secrecy. I think you are addressing a different issue. The original posting was in response to attempts to patent mathematical algorithms or prior art. It really doesn't matter if I keep secret my use of prior art, since you can use the art yourself. The issue are are starting to address is a little more difficult, but not as much as you might think. There really are very few effective trade secrets, (Coke, McDonald's Secret Sauce, How NeXT stays in business ;-) and most of those are countered competitively by doing the same thing a different way, which is key. If there is enough need for an algorithm, then it will be independently discovered by enough people that at least one of them will make it widely known. This has been true since Leibnitz beat whats-his-name to The Calculus ;-) -- Martin Fouts Software Craftsman EMAIL: fouts@apd.ingr.com PHONE: (415) 852-2310 FAX: (415) 856-9224 MAIL: 2400 Geng Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94303 Moving to Montana; Goin' to be a Dental Floss Tycoon. - Frank Zappa