"Intellectual property" is a very real, very necessary part of the brave new world that we inhabit. Without it, innovation and creativity withers. Actually, its just the opposite. Linux is a prime example (or other unix-like OS). Why do you suppose that the vastly inferior windoze products flourished for the past twenty-five years without a unix-like OS coming up and squashing it? It is because of software patents.... the unix kernel and
On Monday 16 October 2006 00:18, Stevens wrote: the IP stack (all proprietary) prevented innovation and creativity, and allowed the M$ crud to become "popular," as in widely installed. This is being reversed now (thanks to Linus Torvalds and Richard Stallman). "Intellectual Property" actually slows innovation, stagnates creativity, and hurts society. Let's suppose (just for the sake of argument) that I own the "idea" of the dual circular linked list. I patent the idea. Then, I pull my "patent" out of my pocket from time to time and point it at anyone who has ever made a product that uses a "linked list" and I say, "gimme your dough". That happens every day. Nothing can be innovated because "everything" is owned by someone (usually a powerful someone, IbM, M$, etc)... which ends up in cross licensing and monopoly to the one holding the highest number of hostages, er, I mean software patents. In order for true innovation and creativity to occur in society, a free society must be allowed to creatively build upon the past without suit or reprisal... no one can own an idea in the software realm without that idea becoming a bottle-neck to growth, innovation and creativity... and Unix was a perfect example of this. -- Kind regards, M Harris <><