RE: tlug: RMS and Amazon...

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <turnbull@example.com>]

>>>>> "FB" == Frank Bennett <bennett@example.com> writes:

    FB> Software patents are a bad thing for the world at large,

This is not entirely clear.  But the current implementation definitely
is; the bars for "novelty" and "unobvious" are much too low.  Anybody
who needs to look at the patent application to figure out "how'd he do
that" for the typical software patent should get a job slopping hogs.
And evidently most patent examiners can't read Intro to CS 101
textbooks---they only look in their own patent database---as several
software patents have been issued for techniques described in
undergraduate textbooks.  (The textbook and journal publishers
strongly resist databasization of their texts, unfortunately, so they
are rather difficult to cite as prior art.)

    FB> although a good thing for the person who holds them.

    FBw> I don't think a boycott is going to discourage Amazon or
    FBw> anyone else from suing to enforce theirs, but throwing a
    FBw> tantrum is one way of calling the public's attention to the
    FBw> need to stiffen or eliminate the law in this area.

You think they might pay attention to a "poison pill" clause that
revokes their license to use free software?  This has been seriously
proposed by Karsten Self.  (The LPF seems to be a dead letter,
unfortunately.)  I think this contradicts the definition of "free"
(although Stallman does not, evidently), so I oppose it on principle.
But I also wonder if it would be effective.

Also, evidently IBM and a couple of other biggees are looking
seriously at allowing certain free software projects to participate in 
their patent pools, which of course already include certain
self-defense provisions.

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