[Office-commits] r9867 - trunk/campaigns

[sysadmin]

Author: www-data
Date: Thu Oct  1 10:07:43 2009
New Revision: 9867

Log:
web commit by ciaran: initial text

Added:
   trunk/campaigns/bilski-supreme-court-brief.mdwn

Added: trunk/campaigns/bilski-supreme-court-brief.mdwn
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+FSF files anti-software-patent brief in Supreme Court case Bilski
+
+Replying to the consultation for the Supreme Court's first review of
+patentable scope since 1981's Diamond v. Diehr, FSF has submitted an
+Amicus Curiae brief making out the case for clearly excluding software
+ideas.  Every software patent is something you can't use your computer
+to do, that is to say, in the USA today there are 100,000 (GET REAL
+NUMBER - from Patent Failure or maybe Bessen & Hunt) things you're
+prohibited from doing with your computer.
+
+The social problems of software patents were foreseen in the late 80s
+by people like Richard Stallman.  Since then, software patents have
+proven to be a economic failure too, and by hindering rather than
+promoting the progress of the useful arts, they've failed their
+consitutional mandate and are thus clearly not even legally
+legitimate.  As detailed in the brief, the Supreme Court has itself
+never authorised the patenting of software ideas, so there's real hope
+that this problem can finally be solved.
+
+ESP's ED Ciaran says: "A lot of the material for this brief came from
+the public swpat.org wiki.  For each point we decided to make, we used
+the wiki to find references and quotes and further information - and I
+hope other brief drafters found it useful too.  If anyone wants to
+help, then building the wiki is the easiest way to get involved."
+
+Interestingly, another software expert who saw early on how software
+patents could be abused is Bill Gates.  While Stallman set up a
+campaigns group, Gates told his team to start "patenting as much as we
+can".
+