On 5/31/07, J. Andrew Rogers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
All patents are ideas and algorithms. There is nothing to distinguish a classical CompSci algorithm from those in any other area, never mind that hardware is software is data. For example, chemical process patents, which no one seems to object to, are indistinguishable from software algorithm patents in every meaningful detail both in practice and in theory. From this I gather that most of the objections to so-called software patents that are not also applied to other "types" of patents are based on ignorance or veiled self-interest.
To clarify: I don't know enough about the chemical industry to know whether chemical process patents are a net benefit or hindrance; I imagine a chemist would be the appropriate person to ask for the answer to that question. I comment only on the software industry, because that's the one I know enough about to know the answer on the issue: and it is that patents, in this industry, are of great harm to everyone, and no benefit to anyone except the lawyers. Life is not a zero-sum game; it's perfectly possible for everyone to lose. ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=231415&user_secret=e9e40a7e
