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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

#51

Post by WalterBright »

natpalmer1776 wrote: post #47
mulmen wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And you don't think they deserve exclusive exploitation rights to that discipline for the next 20 years? 20 years is the midpoint between the Wright Brother’s flight and operational jet fighters. They won the race but it was very much a competition. If Orville and Wilbur didn’t cross the line first then Maxim or Langley would have. They all built on George Cayley’s work. So no, I don’t think the first one to file a…

Very much this. The incentive to create and invent is often largely financial, however that incentive need not be constructed as “winner takes all” rather we should lift each other up in our mutual accomplishments. Unfortunately in my own ruminating on the topic the only practical alternatives seem to be one or more variations on the scary boogey man of socialism.

> The incentive to create and invent is often largely financial, however that incentive need not be constructed as “winner takes all” rather we should lift each other up in our mutual accomplishments.

The Wrights definitely were in it for the money.

The government project was the Langley Prototype, which cost 20 times more than what the Wrights spent, and fell into the Potomac like a sack of wet cement.

> the scary boogey man of socialism

For good reason. Socialism's track record is pretty bad. They're always running out of other peoples' money.

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

#53

Post by natpalmer1776 »

WalterBright wrote: post #51
natpalmer1776 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very much this. The incentive to create and invent is often largely financial, however that incentive need not be constructed as “winner takes all” rather we should lift each other up in our mutual accomplishments. Unfortunately in my own ruminating on the topic the only practical alternatives seem to be one or more variations on the scary boogey man of socialism.

> The incentive to create and invent is often largely financial, however that incentive need not be constructed as “winner takes all” rather we should lift each other up in our mutual accomplishments. The Wrights definitely were in it for the money. The government project was the Langley Prototype, which cost 20 times more than what the Wrights spent, and fell into the Potomac like a sack of wet cement. > the scary b…

Certainly socialism is a heavy and dangerous solution to most problems, the critiques of it are many, and of the many most are fair.

I say boogeyman not to imply it is without problems but rather to say that in the problem spaces that it is often deplored the incumbent alternative is often categorically worse for all those who do not directly benefit from it, which is usually a supermajority at a minimum. Thus, to make the incumbent more tolerable a caricature of an idea is brought forth to scare those who would otherwise support an aspirational idealist into backing the known “lesser” evils.

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

#54

Post by Certhas »

senshan wrote: post #20

Brazil? Why a Brazilian patent is of such a significant interest elsewhere?

Presumably it's an "international patent" filed in Brazil.

You don't have to file your patent in every jurisdiction. There have been treaties for recognising each others intellectual property rights since the late 19th century and Brazil has been part of these from the start.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_internation...

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

#56

Post by Dylan16807 »

somat wrote: post #21
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…

The wright brothers patent was not on wing warping, it was on controlling a vehicle in the air. In short the Wright brothers did not invent the aeroplane they invented how to control a aeroplane. https://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/Wright_Story/Sh... "We wish it to be understood, however, that our invention is not limited to this particular construction, since any construction whereby the angular relations o…

Of course you shouldn't be able to patent an entire discipline! I can't comprehend your point of view here.

And a million people had the idea of "controlling a vehicle in the air". Patents aren't for vague ideas, they're for specific mechanisms.

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

#57

Post by robocat »

WalterBright wrote: post #51
natpalmer1776 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very much this. The incentive to create and invent is often largely financial, however that incentive need not be constructed as “winner takes all” rather we should lift each other up in our mutual accomplishments. Unfortunately in my own ruminating on the topic the only practical alternatives seem to be one or more variations on the scary boogey man of socialism.

> The incentive to create and invent is often largely financial, however that incentive need not be constructed as “winner takes all” rather we should lift each other up in our mutual accomplishments. The Wrights definitely were in it for the money. The government project was the Langley Prototype, which cost 20 times more than what the Wrights spent, and fell into the Potomac like a sack of wet cement. > the scary b…

> Socialism's track record is pretty bad

However the track record for developed countries communally sharing "intellectual property" is much much better. Universities, open source, and public domain all have some crossover with the ideals of socialism.

Yes, communism has repeatedly failed spectacularly.

The softer socialism of public welfare has worked (so far) for many countries including the US. Although I'm skeptical about the future given modern demographics and our governments' choices to appease a majority. The governments of most developed countries smell socialist to me. I'm from New Zealand and most private income/property is taxed up the wahoo to pay for our social welfare programs: it doesn't take much squinting to see my own society as broadly socialist.

Somehow I see people in the US complaining that the Chinese are beating the US at capitalism (regular complaints of price undercutting and monopolistic behaviours) - what's weird since the Chinese are supposed to be pinkos.

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

#58

Post by WalterBright »

robocat wrote: post #57
WalterBright wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The incentive to create and invent is often largely financial, however that incentive need not be constructed as “winner takes all” rather we should lift each other up in our mutual accomplishments. The Wrights definitely were in it for the money. The government project was the Langley Prototype, which cost 20 times more than what the Wrights spent, and fell into the Potomac like a sack of wet cement. > the scary b…

> Socialism's track record is pretty bad However the track record for developed countries communally sharing "intellectual property" is much much better. Universities, open source, and public domain all have some crossover with the ideals of socialism. Yes, communism has repeatedly failed spectacularly. The softer socialism of public welfare has worked (so far) for many countries including the US. Although I'm skepti…

The Chinese switched from communism to free markets. Prosperity resulted.

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

#59

Post by WalterBright »

robocat wrote: post #57
WalterBright wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The incentive to create and invent is often largely financial, however that incentive need not be constructed as “winner takes all” rather we should lift each other up in our mutual accomplishments. The Wrights definitely were in it for the money. The government project was the Langley Prototype, which cost 20 times more than what the Wrights spent, and fell into the Potomac like a sack of wet cement. > the scary b…

> Socialism's track record is pretty bad However the track record for developed countries communally sharing "intellectual property" is much much better. Universities, open source, and public domain all have some crossover with the ideals of socialism. Yes, communism has repeatedly failed spectacularly. The softer socialism of public welfare has worked (so far) for many countries including the US. Although I'm skepti…

I'm not a particular fan of intellectual property. It's a made-up form of property, and seems to be more of an impediment to progress than a help.

I'm not joking - the D language is as open source as possible. We give it away for free.

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

#60

Post by robocat »

Shitty-kitty wrote: post #32
_carbyau_ wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A patent was meant to give a solo genius a way to treat their idea as something tangible, at a time when logistics was much slower and the world revolved around the physical. Maybe they try to develop it themselves, maybe they sell the idea to a big corporation that has the resources to implement it. Either way, genius begets profit, and the world gets genius ideas... in theory anyway. But a genuine idea back then ne…

A patent is meant to encourage people and companies to share the details of their inventions, instead of keeping them secret. In return the inventors get protection for a certain number of years.

That was the stated purpose of a patent.

The modern purposes of patents seem to have shifted a long way from that.

I wonder how much of ADSL's advantage is due to trade secrets (spread across many vendors) versus how much has been published as patents.

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