[ale] What do y'all think about Microsoft's new war?

[Michael B. Trausch]

On Mon, 2007-05-14 at 15:26 -0600, JK wrote:

> IMO it's more the fact that patent protections can be extended
> more or less indefinitely that causes the problem.  Patents -- even
> on software -- that expire after, say, two years, would be fine,
> I think.  I mean, I can see that having to worry about your invention
> being appropriated by a competitor before you even have large-scale
> production under way would be a disincentive to bringing an item
> to market in the first place.  And unlike the Shipstone Corporation,
> most inventors can't make their products violently resistant to
> reverse engineering... 


I think that you're right.  Particularly in technology; I think if
patents are allowed to exist at all, they must be limited to a duration
or no more than 1 years' time when they involve software, algorithms,
computer chip designs, whatever.

The biggest thing that I can see is that this will strike fear into the
hearts of would-be Linux users, and that is not something that I would
say is a good thing.  A move like this from Microsoft is only designed
to hurt the community.

    -- Mike

--
Michael B. Trausch
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Phone: (404) 592-5746
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Demand Freedom!  Use open and free protocols, standards, and software!
"What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without
evidence." ?Christopher Hitchens
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