🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <PIERSON.90Aug7121124@xenna.encore.com> pierson@encore.com writes:
>
>Very briefly, the software patent situation as it presently exists is
>on the verge of preventing the creation of small software companies.

Nobody here is arguing in favor of the current software patent
situation.  We all agree it's a mess.  Where we disagree is whether or
not software *should* be patentable and whether/how patent law could
be made feasible.

>In any case, everyone please read the League for Programming Freedom
>position paper "Against Software Patents" so that we can continue the
>discussion from there instead of going over the same basic facts again
>and again.

Dan's absolutely right.  I grabbed that paper and couple others from
prep.ai.mit.edu under /u/emacs/lpf and read them.  Although I believe 
that software innovation deserves the same protection as hardware, I
agree with the League's position that the best short-term solution is
to abolish software patents until such time as they can be made
feasible. I'm writing my check to them right now.

-- 
Dave Sill (de5@ornl.gov)		These are my opinions.
Martin Marietta Energy Systems
Workstation Support