Absurde softwarepatenter
Softwarepatenter er, som jeg skrev om i går, fundamentalt skadelige, fordi de er (og ikke kan være andet end) monopoler på i sig selv banale byggeklodser og principper, som indgår i mere komplekse strukturer (hvad vi plejer at kalde programmer).
Ovenstående illustration fra League for Programming Freedom viser således en grafisk algoritme, som enhver førsteårsstuderende i et eller andet datafag kunne være kommet op med, skulle han løse et tilsvarende problem.
Ikke desto mindre er det faktisk en patenteret opfindelse, som i USA kan få den, der krænker den (f.eks. ved at "genopfinde hjulet", eller fordi de har set den på denne hjemmeside) alvorligt i saksen.
Som selveste Bill Gates har udtrykt det:
If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of today's ideas were invented and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a complete standstill today. The solution to this is patent exchanges with large companies and patenting as much as we can.Og det er da også lige, hvad Microsoft gør - man har således lige udtaget et patent på at behandle email-adresser som objekter i et mailprogram:
The present invention is directed at a system and process for allowing a user to treat email addresses as objects. This allows easy manipulation of the email addresses, such as allowing them to be added to a contact list, copied to the computer's clipboard, or double-clicked to open the related contact information for that email address sender. Email addresses are treated as objects in the message preview pane and full message windows of both incoming and outgoing email messages. A small icon is added to the text of each address. In a preferred embodiment, the icons will vary depending on the pedigree of the address ...Og så er det, man må sige, at det er da ikke andet end enhver kunne komme op med efter lidt analyse af emails, ikke mindst i vore moderne objektorienterede tider, og det er slet ikke mere, end hvad mange mailprogrammer kunne længe før 2000, hvor Microsoft søgte om patentet ...
Et advokatfirma, der vandt en af de mere absurde sager om patentering, skriver herom på sin hjemmeside:
"Absurd software patents" refers to the perceived tendency of the U.S. Patent Office (at least in the past) to grant patents on well-known software techniques. Because software technology has developed quickly and without any central repository or indexing system for prior art, some observers believe that patent examiners have unwittingly accepted common notions as novel. In one notorious case, the Commissioner of Patents called for re-examination of a patent issued to Compton's on fundamental searching methods.Og pointen er her: Selvom disse "opfindelser" (egtl. er de designbeslutninger) virkelig var gjort af Quantel, er de stadig så oplagte, at de ville være gjort igen og igen af hver anden eller tredje programmør, der forsøgte at skrive et tegneprogram, og det er derfor meningsløst at tale om en "opfindelse", der skal beskyttes.
The five disputed patents in the Adobe case were claimed to cover procedures for creating artwork with a computer, including the use of soft-edged brushes, an on-screen palette, and simple cutting and pasting ("compositing"). Adobe proved at trial that these notions had been in the public domain for years before Quantel obtained its patents...
Lad os håbe, at det lykkes Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure og andre behjertede organisationer, at det lykkes at undgå sådanne Kafkaske institutioner i EU og hermed Danmark!