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Re: McCain's Party May Be Bribed by Microsoft & Gang

On Sep 4, 8:29 pm, "Moshe Goldfarb." <brick_n_st...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:54:51 +0000, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> > McCain advised by software patent & tobacco lobbyists?

> Are you sure you aren't Mark S. Bilk in drag, Roy Schestowitz?
> You seem just about as loony as he is.

McCain has made public statements which in effect say "I'm in
Microsoft's Pocket".

Keep in mind that economic recoveries in 1982-1986, 1994-1999, and
2004-2006 were fueled by technical innovation.  In 1984-1987, it was
the transition of the PC from a hobbyist tool to an indispensable
corporate tool. In 1994-1999 it was the massive expansion of the
Internet and access to it using powerful Windows workstations striving
to compete with Linux/Unix workstations.  In 2004-2006, we had a bump
in global economic growth fueled by Open Source, Globalization, and
Offshoring.

In each case, the key element to the success of these innovations was
the lack of barriers to entry.  The proliferation of software patents,
especially attempts to patent 20-50 year old technology as "A New
Invention" or attempting to take ownership by making a trivial,
intuitive change, has stifled innovation.

For years, the best alternative defense against a poacher patent was
to publish the innovation, to make sure that you had proof of first
publication of the idea.  And publishing source code has even become a
popular tactic for companies like IBM who file thousands of patent
applications every year, but also publish thousands of innovations in
OSS projects ranging from Linux to Jikes to Eclipse.

Remember that the new software patent laws were passed by Republicans
and signed by Bill Clinton back in 1994.  I'm sure that if anyone
realized what a circus it would become, everybody would have agreed
that traditional 20 year software patents were a bad idea.

> Moshe Goldfarb


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