No Software Patents from Rick McDonald on 2001-09-30 (www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org from September 2001)

From: Rick McDonald <rmcdonal@coco.cc.az.us>
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 09:33:16 -0700
To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
Message-Id: <sbb6e6e6.065@coco.cc.az.us>

I think that to create standards software producers need to give up their patents for several reasons. 

First, I have seen large companies like Amazon create "new" and patented methods, that had prior art in software. Amazon's one-click purchasing patent was nothing new, I had seen it in Bulletin Board Systems using First Class at least 4 or 5 years before the patent was awarded.

Second, software and the Internet have traditionally used copyright to protect their work. I believe this should continue to be the case. If the W3 adopts a policy officially sanctioning software patents, I fear the battle will be lost and the rate of progress in software and the internet will slow dramatically.

Please reconsider endorsing patents in this arena.

Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 12:31:54 UTC