Re: A Patent on Continuations?

[address@hidden]

    It's only madness if it conflicts with your ideology.  I don't see how
you can argue one way for software patents and another way for
mechanical patents.  Both software and physical machines are pieces of
engineering, one operating in a virtual world and one operating in the
real world.  As far as intellectual property is concerned they are
identical.

    This only makes sense if you believe in laws based on consistent
principles.  It's another story entirely if you believe in governing
based on whim and opinion.  If so then there's no hypocrisy in having
one standard for mechanical patents and another for software patents,
anything goes.

    On the third hand patents could be abolished altogether.  Although I
disagree with this solution at least it's intellectually consistent
(like fundamentalist religion versus the quasirational /
quasireligious mush most people believe in).




>> Unfortunately, one of the people who misinterpreted that decision was
>> a lower court judge.
>
> ... as well as the vast majority of law professors in the nation.
>
> Once again, let me repeat my suggestion: if you are a programmer
> concerned about software patents and you live near a law school. Please,
> contact the Dean of that school and offer to be a guest speaker on this
> topic.
>
> 99.9% of law students (some of whom will be on the Supreme Court one
> day) graduate believing that no one would write software if they
> couldn't patent their ideas.
>
> This is the real root of software patent madness.
>
> --- Peter
>