M. Fioretti wrote:
Of course. But if they do it for profit, they will only shell the money out if there is the possibility (through patents) to get more back.
Look, I don't question that patents let companies make more money than they would otherwise. What I'm saying is that (1) they can still make money without and more imporantly (2) progress is faster without.
Unfortunately, very, very few people with this sensibility get rich.
Very few people get rich through patents for that matter.
Better not to risk to delay progress by relying only on them.
I'm confident that progress is faster without secrecy and without inhibiting building upon previous work.
I hope I've successfully questioned the wisdom, common in Free SW circles, that all patents for any invention (excluding SW, genes, drugs) are necessarily harmful and will slow down progress.
I had *never* heard that notion before. My opinions certainly don't come from experience in the Free SW community. They come from my experience in the scientific community.
No, that was only part of my examples, or at least of my thought. If I invent something truly revolutionary and useful spending just 10 Euros, I want both:
The issue is not what you as an inventor want. The issue is whether patents tend to speed progress or not.
Cheers, Daniel. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
