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A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

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Re: A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

#11

Post by shibapuppie »

fluoridation wrote: post #10
dlcarrier wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to think they were entirely useless, but since then I've learned of many instances where a much better technology is developed because the first iteration is patented. For example, the Wright brothers biggest contribution to aviation was suing everyone using wing warping ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers_patent_war ) which greatly advanced the adoption of the much more advanced ailerons. Software…

Having people create new technology to avoid arbitrary legal hurdles instead of adopting existing and perfectly functional technology doesn't seem particularly efficient.

Trying to harp on anyone here about "efficiency" is going to fall on deaf ears.

Whether it's single passenger cars or AI, nobody really understands how inefficient they and their lives are.

Re: A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

#12

Post by anthk »

dlcarrier wrote: post #4
unfitted2545 wrote: post #2

Are patents a necessary evil?

I used to think they were entirely useless, but since then I've learned of many instances where a much better technology is developed because the first iteration is patented. For example, the Wright brothers biggest contribution to aviation was suing everyone using wing warping ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers_patent_war ) which greatly advanced the adoption of the much more advanced ailerons. Software…

Now imagine what would happened if Euclid's books (and Newton's Principia) were Copyrighted until today.

Re: A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

#13

Post by AnimalMuppet »

dlcarrier wrote: post #4
unfitted2545 wrote: post #2

Are patents a necessary evil?

I used to think they were entirely useless, but since then I've learned of many instances where a much better technology is developed because the first iteration is patented. For example, the Wright brothers biggest contribution to aviation was suing everyone using wing warping ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers_patent_war ) which greatly advanced the adoption of the much more advanced ailerons. Software…

The Wright brothers sued Curtiss specifically for ailerons, and won. Ailerons were ruled to be a form of wing warping.

Re: A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

#14

Post by SoftTalker »

fluoridation wrote: post #10
dlcarrier wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to think they were entirely useless, but since then I've learned of many instances where a much better technology is developed because the first iteration is patented. For example, the Wright brothers biggest contribution to aviation was suing everyone using wing warping ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers_patent_war ) which greatly advanced the adoption of the much more advanced ailerons. Software…

Having people create new technology to avoid arbitrary legal hurdles instead of adopting existing and perfectly functional technology doesn't seem particularly efficient.

The intent of the patent system is to encourage publishing innovation in exchange for rights to it for a period of time, and then everyone gets to use it. IMO the biggest problem has been granting patents for inventions that at least in retrospect seem non-novel or obvious. I get that there's a grey area there at some point, but "one click ordering" is one that comes to mind. Just because someone hasn't done it exactly like that before, should not make such a simple idea patentable. And I think patents should be on specific implementations, not general ideas. If I can implement the end-user experience of one-click ordering without substantially copying Amazon's underlying technology, that should be fair to do.

Re: A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

#15

Post by yndoendo »

ThrowawayTestr wrote: post #3
unfitted2545 wrote: post #2

Are patents a necessary evil?

Software patents, no. They're just evil.

Depends on how they are used.

Let say you come up with a patent. You let open source use the patent, GPL3 ..., for free why charging close source solutions.

That could go to funding the open source development or other gains. FANNG has the money, take it from the them by all means.

Re: A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

#16

Post by fluoridation »

SoftTalker wrote: post #14
fluoridation wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having people create new technology to avoid arbitrary legal hurdles instead of adopting existing and perfectly functional technology doesn't seem particularly efficient.

The intent of the patent system is to encourage publishing innovation in exchange for rights to it for a period of time, and then everyone gets to use it. IMO the biggest problem has been granting patents for inventions that at least in retrospect seem non-novel or obvious. I get that there's a grey area there at some point, but "one click ordering" is one that comes to mind. Just because someone hasn't done it exact…

>the biggest problem has been granting patents for inventions that at least in retrospect seem non-novel or obvious.

I don't agree that that's the biggest problem. I think the biggest problem is that patents are abused to stifle competition by refusing licenses or putting untenable fees on them. No one would have cared about Nintendo's D-pad patent if they'd just put a reasonable license fee on it. On the other hand, a patent like MP3 I would argue is quite legitimate, but putting a patent on a coded just makes interoperability more difficult. If MPEG had charged licenses for decoding chips and explicitly allowed software implementations, that would have things so much more smoother.

Re: A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

#18

Post by jquery »

dlcarrier wrote: post #4
unfitted2545 wrote: post #2

Are patents a necessary evil?

I used to think they were entirely useless, but since then I've learned of many instances where a much better technology is developed because the first iteration is patented. For example, the Wright brothers biggest contribution to aviation was suing everyone using wing warping ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers_patent_war ) which greatly advanced the adoption of the much more advanced ailerons. Software…

I’m not sure how you can read that Wright Brothers wiki article and come away thinking patents worked in America’s favor…

Re: A 25-year-old video patent just expired, ending a legal headache for Linux

#19

Post by msie »

jquery wrote: post #18
dlcarrier wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to think they were entirely useless, but since then I've learned of many instances where a much better technology is developed because the first iteration is patented. For example, the Wright brothers biggest contribution to aviation was suing everyone using wing warping ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers_patent_war ) which greatly advanced the adoption of the much more advanced ailerons. Software…

I’m not sure how you can read that Wright Brothers wiki article and come away thinking patents worked in America’s favor…

Maybe dlcarrier is AI?
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