[python] Re: patent
- From: Dirk Steuwer <dirk@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: python@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2007 08:10:14 +0100
On Wednesday 07 November 2007 22:55:34 dirk.bonne@xxxxxxx wrote:
> J. R. Sparks wrote:
> > If Microsoft did manage to build the Python 2007 the wheels would lock
> > up, the chain drive would develop bad sectors and the brakes would
> > probably need patches to fix them.
> >
> > Seriously, Alan Maurer's Tilting Trike is patented and you see nothing
> > about it. It is a great idea but because he is trying to find someone to
> > build it you here nothing. If it were public knowledge we could all have
> > one.
>
> AFAIK, this is untrue. Even if it is patented you can always make the
> bike non-commercially. The idea around patents is to give a carrot to
> the inventer so he /she documents his/her secrets in a patent. The
> carrot is to give the inventer a time limited monopoly on licensing the
> idea for commercial reasons.
>
> In the software world patents are totally misused, but that is another
> story.
>
> dirk
yes i fully agree here. Software is a language to me, already protected by
copyright from day one you release it (now matter if open or closed source).
Math and logic components are explicitly not patentable, still in the USA and
EU there are plenty of software patents granted.
If you follow news in the IT world, it ends up like this:
company a sues company b and finally they cross-licence their patent
portfolio, thereby creating a patent free world among/between them. This
excludes those small inventors from entering the market, which is often
claimed to be the main benefit of patents beside public documentation.
In the mechanical world, my experience is this: patentlawyer from my company
comes to me for patenting stuff i developed. "Mr Steuwer, when i'm done with
you invention, you yourself would be unable to understand, what i have been
writing about" So public documentation ends up being
lawyer-speak...especially if you try to read and understand software
patents ;-(
It takes 3-4 years untill your patent is filed at least in your homecountry,
even longer on the international scale.
Then its still worth nothing, untill it is tested in court. So a big company
comes along, trying to dig out prior art or trying show that the required
inventive step was not big enough compared to status quo to call your
devolopment an invention. -> your done.
So society has to look carefully at benefits and pitfalls of patent systems in
specific fields of technology.
I much agree with henry. If you open up all inventions it is up to anyone what
you do with it. It takes much more than patents to build up a business. Just
because you filed a patent it still doesn't mean your thing is feasable,
manufacturable, machinable, not to pricy, etc...
Great overview herny. Would it be possible to add a structured
objective/advantage/disadvantage list to each of these desgins?
Whe should really do a bike design wiki site, where we could all edit things
together, otherwise it is always up to one person managing a site. i guess
Jürgen is reaching his limits as well :-)
Regards,
DirkS
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