4 ms·

Our patent system is completely broken.

• bluejekyll 10y ago
  Software should only be covered by copyright; software patents are crazy... there are too many dumb ones to count.
  • mikekchar 10y ago
    It certainly should be one or the other. It's completely crazy that you can copyright something, then make a vague description of it and patent it too (without even having to make the original source code available!). And having worked for companies that got sued for patent infringement quite a bit, what usually happens is that someone sues you and demands your source code in discovery. So it isn't even a "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" -- it's "Your software could plausibly have been implemented using our patented technique. Let's have a look at your source code that proves that it isn't". So instead of being a tool that trades off a limited monopoly for a technique in exchange for making public something that would have been a trade secret, it's a way of protecting a particular implementation while at the same time being able to force your way to see all of your competitor's implementations.
    • bluejekyll 10y ago
      I disagree that it could be patents or copyright. I don't think it should ever be patents. Patents are designed to give the patent holder a monopoly on the innovation so that they can protect their development and research costs. They exist for things with high R&D costs. Software is much more akin to math or music. You can not patent math or music, and fundamentally it's for the same reason. We must do away with all software patents.