:Linux Journal: The Coming Software Patent Crisis: Can Linux Survive?
Linux Journal: The Coming Software Patent Crisis: Can Linux Survive? Aug 15, 1999, 22 :01 UTC (32 Talkback[s]) (11080 reads) (Other stories by Bryan Pfaffenberger)
"Bogus software patents pose a genuine threat to computer industry
innovation... University of Virginia professor and author
Bryan Pfaffenberger contemplates what's going to happen when open-source
authors start getting hit with patent infringement lawsuits -- and the
picture isn't pretty."
"You just released your source code to the 'Net, and you've licensed it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License. But you're in for a
nasty surprise. A month later, you receive a threatening letter from the
Software Industry Association of America (SIAA). It seems you've violated
no fewer than 197 patents..."
"And then suddenly it hits you. That's just the point. You can't write
any software without infringing on somebody's patent -- even "Hello World"
will infringe..."
"So what's wrong with software patents? Everything. The PTO has handed
out thousands of patents for trivial software techniques that any developer
working independently would discover. Little attempt is made to determine
prior art. Increasingly, the agency is granting patents for obvious
techniques that wouldn't surprise a 'Net-savvy sixth grader, let alone an
expert."
