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>>Sure you can. Who'd get hurt? Amazon, because now I can build my own
>>online bookstore? Microsoft, because I might start serializing
>>objects to XML? I can practically smell their fear already ...
>
> These are ridiculous arguments. Just because Amazon and Microsoft
> make money doest mean nobody gets hurt when their ideas are taken and
> used by others...
<snip/>
> If other companies can come along and take from MS
> or Amazon an idea for a software product or feature on their online
> stores this directly effects the Seattle economy and the people I very
> much care about.
Wait, I thought the problem was that people like me managed to violate a
patent that was filed more than a year *after* I violated it. Nice R&D
there. Or the millions of us who violate patents by doing extremely
obvious stuff like: "You must turn on the computer and then use it".
> Taking the above arguments aside, I very much agree with the idea of
> Open Source software. From a development community perspective its
> fantastic. I participate in as many projects as I can as often as I
> can. But unfortunately, while I recognize that a lot of us see a
> difference between OSS and free software, many people don't. They
> push these two together. OSS is expected to be free.
I think this expectation is crazy. Just because the software is free
doesn't mean it won't infringe on patents. This in turn will lead to a
loss of revenue for Big Co. and they will come along and sue anyone they
can including the open source author (but especially the open source
sponsor) or big open source user. And if not Big Co then The SCO group.
Go figure.
Cheers,
Jeff Rafter
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