[gareth.nic]

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The White House this month began allowing people to create petitions on its website, and an early favorite asks the president to "direct the patent office to cease issuing software patents."

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The software patent petition argues that patents have become a way "to stifle innovation and prevent competition rather than to support innovation and competitive markets. They've become an antitrust tool employed by large companies against small ones."

One reader's comments read:

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Methinks first, abolish all existing software patents. How can someone patent an idea, or algorithm or gesture? Similarly, how could one pretend to patent a mathematical formula? Or grammar? Or a (spoken / written) language?

Which in my opinion is true. I also can't believe how far it went. It's so bad, that Microsoft is actually making money off companies like HTC that sell Android smartphones. $5 per phone == lawsuit resolved...bullshit!

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This post has been edited by gareth.nic: 02 October 2011 - 04:25 PM

[gareth.nic]

Oh, one more thing...

[GunnerInc]

How does it prevent competition and stifle innovation? If anything it CREATES competition and innovation.

Lets say I wanted to make an OS that is better than Windows, well I know I cannot make it like Windows at all or I will get sued. Now I have to do a lot of thinking and innovation to make it better than Windows but NOT like windows..

Or,
I spend a few years on a new algo that compresses ALL files say 90 to 1 and decompresses fine, I could make millions off that algo but people are saying that it should be available to EVERYONE? NOT!!!

The people that want to get rid of software patents, are the ones that have no original ideas IMO.

[gareth.nic]

GunnerInc, on 03 October 2011 - 01:26 AM, said:

How does it prevent competition and stifle innovation? If anything it CREATES competition and innovation.

Lets say I wanted to make an OS that is better than Windows, well I know I cannot make it like Windows at all or I will get sued. Now I have to do a lot of thinking and innovation to make it better than Windows but NOT like windows..

Or,
I spend a few years on a new algo that compresses ALL files say 90 to 1 and decompresses fine, I could make millions off that algo but people are saying that it should be available to EVERYONE? NOT!!!

The people that want to get rid of software patents, are the ones that have no original ideas IMO.

You have a point, to an extent. But copyright takes care of most things. Certain things you just can't patent. Just because we say you can't patent your "code/technology" doesn't mean we want to see it. (referring to you 3rd paragraph)

Because now you get patent trolls that sit with a whole bunch of patents and sue left right and center making profit off of suing companies and entrepreneurs. Which is disgusting.

Look at Lodsys for example.

Plus, this whole patent war is stifling innovation because just you dare create something and invest millions into it. You might risk someone/competition suing you - cough Android...

I can't recall car manufacturers suing each other at this rate because their car designs look similar. AND God knows there's hundred of different models from different brands that look the same, with only the badge being the noticeable difference.

[Programmist]

The stifling effect comes in when an average person or small/medium-sized business tries to innovate, but gets sued by a large corporation with a relatively infinite supply of cash. Regardless of the validity of the suit, the large corporation will probably win by default as the entrepreneur probably won't have the money for legal expenses.

[e_i_pi]

GunnerInc, on 02 October 2011 - 04:26 PM, said:

Lets say I wanted to make an OS that is better than Windows, well I know I cannot make it like Windows at all because it will crash constantly. Now I have to do a lot of bugfixing to make it better than Windows but NOT like windows..

There, I fixed it for you