I thought the guys did pretty well for a heated topic, though they were probably a little too quick to interrupt each other.
A couple things I found myself shouting back at the radio as I drove: * To Joe: How do you feel about the many patent suits against Apple (if you own shares, you get a summary of these every year with the annual statement). Do you presume that these patents are valid too? Come to think of it, whatever happened to AT&T's wide ranging suit over MPEG-4 patents? * To Tor and Dick: Some of the patents involved seem suitably obvious, fine. But what greater standard of ownership is there than the actual granting of a patent? You can say "yeah, but" all you like, and question the competence of the USPTO, but with the patent officially granted, how can you say the holder neither owns nor deserves it? The "we just know" test doesn't hold much legal water. * To all: on the topic of licensing, it's a shame you didn't bring up the idea of compulsory licensing. This exists in several fields, such as music publishing. A composer owns the rights to his or her works, but must license it in a non-discriminatory fashion for a set price through one of a handful of agencies. So there's precedent for what Dick wants. That said, I personally agree with what I think is Joe's point, that if ownership isn't the right to do with your property as you see fit, then what is it, and what good is it? When it comes to what I own, why should I give a damn about someone else's idea of "fair"? * There's s perfectly valid case to be made against software patents. Lots of smart people take that position. Tor and Dick seemed to argue for patent ownership rights so weak, they might be better off officially taking an anti-patent stance. Typing this on the iPad. It's going to take some getting used to. How much for a little bluetooth keyboard? -Chris On Apr 5, 2:33 pm, Michael Easter <codeto...@gmail.com> wrote: > I was disappointed as well, due mostly to the attitude from some > corners. Saying things like "you are dead wrong" and street-fight > debating tactics like "are you in favor of communism?" were painful. > > I'm no shrinking violet, and I appreciate a spirited discussion, but > would such an attitude be welcomed at the Posse Roundup, if it were a > guest? I think not. In the same way, it's not welcome on my car > stereo. > > It _might_ (not sure on this) be interesting to have a podcast episode > with a true expert (e.g. a patent attorney). Though perhaps that would > be too far off-topic. > > Michael Easter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to javapo...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to javaposse+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en.
