> I can imagine that if you "invent" a filesystem and everyone is enthusiastic & starts using it - you have the right to be paid for your work? We tried this.

> I can imagine that if you "invent" a filesystem and everyone is enthusiastic & starts using it - you have the right to be paid for your work? We tried this. It led to the current insanity with software patents and software trolls. I also don't see any indication that innovation would stop if patents didn't exist (see: everything done in the Linux kernel). The trade-off is clear: patents do more harm than good. Get rid of them.