"Dean Michael C. Berris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Let's not go as far as the wheel -- think about the light bulb. Thomas > Edison got "rich" with his invention which he patented -- later being > produced by GE licensed to other producers of the incandescent > lamp. Then there came the Flourescent lamps -- patented also. That > didn't stop halogen lamps from coming out. And then there are LED > arrays, and others like cathode tubes, etc.
In this case, it was creativity, not intellectual property, which fueled the need to create more effective light bulbs. And that's what patents are supposed to do: instead of protecting and benefiting just the inventor, it ought to protect and benefit the interest of the consuming public as well. Instead of just for the inventors, it ought to fuel public knowledge, which in turn stimulates thought, and furthers the goal of having better things. In other words, patents (whether of software or hardware variety) ought to be the application of the `golden rule', not the exception of it. > Like the wheel, light bulbs changed civilization forever. But what am I > saying here? It sounds like I'm defending patents right? I'm merely > showing one way by which even a patented product -- or a copyrighted > piece of work -- couldn't necessarily be "evil". No, and I wasn't saying that `copyrights and IP are evil'. What I'm saying is that, people ought to take some time out and think about how such things have an influence over their lives. > Patenting your design for the wheel would be selfish. Well, yeah. :D > Patenting some person's design for the Coke bottle would be > selfish. Well, yeah! So is claiming what is yours, and possessing > anything and keeping it for yourself. Would it be selfish if you give to > the church? Maybe not. It would be if you have some ulterior motive besides helping, but that can be contested by what we know only; in other words, it's between you and your $DEITY. You mess with that, you mess up with yourself. > Would it be selfish if you invest in the stock market? Well, yes! :D Very much the same as you invest in your education, which I find very selfish. However, that is offset by obtaining newfound abilities to help people, and yourself. > But what can you do that's not selfish? I admit, being a charitable > prostitute to be used by anybody for any purpose is a very *very* wild > fantasy but that's hardly a way of life. Sooner or later, it's going to > catch up with you. :) There's no contest in that since it is not a way of life. There's a difference between giving freely, and giving freely. There is no fantasy involved, only the realization that there's nothing in this universe that can be done by men that hasn't been done before. And in the midst of that, selfishness is an old hag. Time moves backwards, friend. It hasn't catched up with me. I have caught up with it. > So who has the copyright to Linux? Linus Torvalds. Is the design of the > Linux kernel exclusive to him? Well, due to the GPL, it allows others to > use the software as he/she sees fit without implied warranty -- and make > modifications to the code. However, can I claim that the Linux kernel is > mine? NO. Nobody else can claim that but Linus Torvalds. That indeed is correct in accordance with the GPL, as it safeguards the authorship to the original. However, that could be disputed in other licences which do not have specific provisions on this. This currently the problem of copyrights now: people who are anxious and selfish tend to write their own copyrights themselves without legal assistance, and that screws up the process. > I wrote: >> However, consider this: have you ever done something so selfless for an >> ideal without form? > > Pardon me, but I don't really know what you mean by this. I think we're getting too `into' here in a tech ml. I'll let you figure this one for yourself, not because I don't know, but because I believe it can be better for you to find that out yourself. > Yes, it's not the only path. The musician was an example. Now take > into consideration what most of the linux kernel hackers would feel if > (for example) someone comes along and claims that Linux is theirs (see > what happened to IBM's fight with SCO). If not for copyright laws, it > would have been perfectly reasonable for SCO to claim that Linux was > theirs -- or that the light bulb was something I invented. Let me be clear again on this one: I didn't say copyrights and IP are bad. I just think of them as silly, and IIRC I am entitled to opinion. For the record though, I don't like what SCO does with itself now, and it hurts to see it being manipulated by the `vested interests'. And as for the light bulb, people can contest to it all the time they want to, because as far as I know, it was already in use way before humans discovered fire (this is no fantasy, mind you.) If we have this discussion in the future (or the reverse past, considering my earlier statement) where there are more considerations, then you might just understand. > It could certainly be a lie, but you know lies -- when it's been said > over and over become "true" at some time. The only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. If lies turn to truths, then there's no way for humans to have hope. I am confident, however, that good will triumphs over free will. > So what do you suggest in stead of Copyrights? NDA's I can do > without. IP, very much debatable. I suggest we stop, look, and listen. The world can have all the copyrights, NDAs, WMDs, CDs, TROs and whatnot whenever wherever. But can it just have one little moment of peace? -- ZAK B. ELEP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- <http://zakame.spunge.org> 1024D/FA53851D 1486 7957 454D E529 E4F1 F75E 5787 B1FD FA53 851D -- Running Debian GNU+Linux testing/unstable. GnuPG signed mail preferred.
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