There are millions of software practitioners around the world today, working in their own cultures, languages, and so forth.
At the same time, the software these people create is often used globally.
Patents do not protect inventors; patents protect those who file patents. Moreover, patents not only protect their owners from unsavoury folk who would steal their intellectual property, but from innocent people who came up with similar inventions at similar times in their unique circumstances.
It is not generally straightforward for those "innocent inventors" to prove that they were using the claimed patented IP at the same time or prior to the filing of the patent.
Are we all to begin spending as much time scrutinizing our code for patent violations as we do for bugs?
Many organizations that cannot afford to support their bespoke software internally offer it to the community in the hopes of finding collaborators with an interest in, and an ability to, help support that software. It's a nice model, and it brings us all tangible business benefits, like the Internet for example.
In any case, when someone offers their ideas to the community, it's churlish for others to criticize their reasons for doing so.
Authored Comments
There are millions of software practitioners around the world today, working in their own cultures, languages, and so forth.
At the same time, the software these people create is often used globally.
Patents do not protect inventors; patents protect those who file patents. Moreover, patents not only protect their owners from unsavoury folk who would steal their intellectual property, but from innocent people who came up with similar inventions at similar times in their unique circumstances.
It is not generally straightforward for those "innocent inventors" to prove that they were using the claimed patented IP at the same time or prior to the filing of the patent.
Are we all to begin spending as much time scrutinizing our code for patent violations as we do for bugs?
What is the solution to this problem?
Many organizations that cannot afford to support their bespoke software internally offer it to the community in the hopes of finding collaborators with an interest in, and an ability to, help support that software. It's a nice model, and it brings us all tangible business benefits, like the Internet for example.
In any case, when someone offers their ideas to the community, it's churlish for others to criticize their reasons for doing so.