[Linux-aus] Re: Software patents: Munich has put Linux project on hold!

[Con Zymaris]

On Sun, Aug 22, 2004 at 02:47:22PM +1000, Anthony Towns wrote:
> 
> Sure. But some changes are easier than others, and the two possibilities
> you list above are way off to the harder side; so far that I can't see
> any hope of them being possible without some sort of coup.

so, you obviously have a game plane. great. This wasn't obvious to me from 
your previous posts.

> 
> There are other possibilities that don't require abolition or perfection;
> we could tweak the considerations for novelty/prior-art -- that wouldn't

We don't have access to the methodology used by IP Austalia for 
considering novelty/prior-art. How do you propose to enact this?

> make the fact that defending/defeating patents is unreasonably expensive
> any less obnoxious, nor the length of patent protection less than eons
> in Internet time, but it might do some good; or we could make the patent
> system more crufty by having special exemptions for patent licensing
> introduced for open source uses; or we could decide to work with the
> patent system, and set up a way for patent holders to receive royalties
> when their patents are used in open source software in a way that doesn't
> make it hard or impossible to develop open source software.

This step is likely to be incompatible with GPL-licenced code.  Do you
propose re-licencing that code? This is a very difficult task.

> 
> Focussing on simple solutions -- like perfection and abolition -- is
> great when you've got sole power to enact the solution; but while that
> works when we're hacking, it doesn't work in politics, so it's better
> to focus on ideas that improve things a bit that can actually happen,
> rather than overall solutions that won't.
> 
> You've had a couple of goes at trying to imply I'm not interested in
> changing things for the better here, please stop it now.

You misread my intention. I am merely trying to extract clarification of
your views on this topic and your intentions, which you have now done.
Thanks.


-- 
Con Zymaris <conz at cyber.com.au> Level 4, 10 Queen St, Melbourne, Australia 
Cybersource: Australia's Leading Linux and Open Source Solutions Company 
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