[OT] Re: European parliament rejects software patents

[Dan Shafer]

This opens a very real can of worms and probably isn't a conversation  
we should have here. Having acknowledged that, let me add my two cents.

First, my background. I have a law degree. I specialized in  
intellectual property law. I've written, prosecuted and defended  
several software patents without taking the Bar exam. I've decided  
not to become a practicing attorney.

<rave>
Second, I have become unalterably opposed to software patents.  
Copyright provides adequate protection for what programmers do for  
the most part. A unique algorithm (process) should be eligible for  
patent protection, but nothing else. I have NEVER seen a software  
patent application that didn't fail -- in my mind and with my  
background in programming -- the test of non-obviousness that is at  
the heart of patent protection in the U.S. The U.S. Patent &  
Trademark Office (PTO) has for years taken the position that it will  
largely grant all but the most outlandish software patent  
applications and let the courts sort things out. But at the end of it  
all, I just see patent as the wrong way to protect software  
innovation. It hurts everyone and helps nobody.
</rave>

Dan