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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/fighting-software-patents.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/fighting-software-patents.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d4c977f --- /dev/null +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/fighting-software-patents.html @@ -0,0 +1,128 @@ +<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> +<!-- Parent-Version: 1.77 --> +<title>Fighting Software Patents +- Singly and Together - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> +<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/fighting-software-patents.translist" --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<h2>Fighting Software Patents - Singly and Together</h2> + +<p>by Richard Stallman</p> + +<p> +Software patents are the software project equivalent of land mines: +each design decision carries a risk of stepping on a patent, which can +destroy your project.</p> +<p> +Developing a large and complex program means combining many ideas, +often hundreds or thousands of them. In a country that allows +software patents, chances are that some substantial fraction of the +ideas in your program will be patented already by various companies. +Perhaps hundreds of patents will cover parts of your program. A study +in 2004 found almost 300 US patents that covered various parts of a +single important program. It is so much work to do such a study that +only one has been done.</p> +<p> +Practically speaking, if you are a software developer, you will +usually be threatened by one patent at a time. When this happens, you +may be able to escape unscathed if you find legal grounds to overturn +the patent. You may as well try it; if you succeed, that will mean one +less mine in the mine field. If this patent is particularly +threatening to the public, the <a href="http://www.pubpat.org">Public +Patent Foundation (pubpat.org)</a> may take up the case; that is its +specialty. If you ask for the computer-using community's help in +searching for prior publication of the same idea, to use as evidence +to overturn a patent, we should all respond with whatever useful +information we might have.</p> +<p> +However, fighting patents one by one will never eliminate the danger +of software patents, any more than swatting mosquitos will eliminate +malaria. You cannot expect to defeat every patent that comes at you, +any more than you can expect to kill every monster in a video game: +sooner or later, one is going to defeat you and damage your program. +The US patent office issues around a hundred thousand software patents +each year; our best efforts could never clear these mines as fast as +they plant more.</p> +<p> +Some of these mines are impossible to clear. Every software patent is +harmful, and every software patent unjustly restricts how you use your +computer, but not every software patent is legally invalid according +to the patent system's criteria. The software patents we can overturn +are those that result from “mistakes”, where the patent +system's rules were not properly carried out. There is nothing we can +do when the only relevant mistake was the policy of allowing software +patents.</p> +<p> +To make a part of the castle safe, you've got to do more than kill the +monsters as they appear—you have to wipe out the generator that +produces them. Overturning existing patents one by one will not make +programming safe. To do that, we have to change the patent system so +that patents can no longer threaten software developers and users.</p> +<p> +There is no conflict between these two campaigns: we can work on the +short-term escape and the long-term fix at once. If we take care, we +can make our efforts to overturn individual software patents do double +duty, building support for efforts to correct the whole problem. The +crucial point is not to equate “bad” software patents with +mistaken or invalid software patents. Each time we invalidate one +software patent, each time we talk about our plans to try, we should +say in no uncertain terms, “One less software patent, one less +menace to programmers: the target is zero.”</p> +<p> +The battle over software patents in the European Union is reaching a +crucial stage. The European Parliament voted a year ago to reject +software patents conclusively. In May, the Council of Ministers voted +to undo the Parliament's amendments and make the directive even worse +than when it started. However, at least one country that supported +this has already reversed its vote. We must all do our utmost right +now to convince an additional European country to change its vote, and +to convince the newly elected members of the European Parliament to +stand behind the previous vote. Please refer +to <a href="http://www.ffii.org/"> www.ffii.org</a> for more +information on how to help, and to get in touch with other +activists.</p> +</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> +<div id="footer"> +<div class="unprintable"> + +<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a +href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. There are also <a +href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and other +corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a +href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, + replace it with the translation of these two: + + We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality + translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. + Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard + to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> + <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> + + <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of + our web pages, see <a + href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations + README</a>. --> +Please see the <a +href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a> for +information on coordinating and submitting translations of this article.</p> +</div> + +<p>Copyright © 2004 Richard Stallman</p> + +<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" +href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/">Creative +Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License</a>.</p> + +<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> + +<p class="unprintable">Updated: +<!-- timestamp start --> +$Date: 2014/04/12 12:40:00 $ +<!-- timestamp end --> +</p> +</div> +</div> +</body> +</html> |