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I would argue that any invention is a discovery of sorts. The inventor of the electric coffee maker didn't fundamentally alter the universe to cause it to be po
by delecti 10y ago
I would argue that any invention is a discovery of sorts. The inventor of the electric coffee maker didn't fundamentally alter the universe to cause it to be possible for a device to brew coffee.
And even if you don't buy that argument (it's admittedly tenuous) the fact that it's a discovery wouldn't convince me that the discoverer shouldn't still get exclusivity rights, given the amount of research involved in discovering new molecules and shepherding them through the approval process.
Could you possibly find something a little less conspiracy theory looking? Also something a little less manifesto.
- hobs 10y ago> Could you possibly find something a little less conspiracy theory looking? Also something a little less manifesto. Clearly his own blog.
- delecti 10y agoOh, so it is. Good catch.
- PieterH 10y agoIt's my own blog. I spent two years fighting software parents in Europe as president of the largest NGO involved (FFII), and it was pretty clear that we were fighting a well organised and funded lobbying machine. After some years of analysis my conclusion was that software was not in fact a special case, and that all patents were a problem. Sorry to not have made it clear that I was linking to my own work.
- PieterH 10y agoThe question is whether that reward benefits society or not. Do we get innovation without it? Are there studies that show patents preceding innovation rather than following it?