[YBA] i4i vs MS?

[geoffrey mendelson]

On Aug 13, 2009, at 2:05 PM, Danny Lieberman wrote:

> Geoff
>
> I'm sorry. Did you actually read Besson and Meurer?
>
> I did and I think they did an excellent job of making their case  
> that software patents do not have economic benefit for the industry


I did. You can download the paper from GROKLAW.  In this case, I think  
it's something you agree with because you agree with it. I don't and  
was not further convinced by them. If anything, I found that the only  
thing that they made a convincing argument for is that the US needs  
better judges.

In any case, what I have not seen, although it keeps being asserted is  
that there is no case where total gain of software patents has ever  
exceeded the total cost. In specific, Microsoft.

I will say, since you said "the industry" instead of "a company",  
that's hard to disagree with. The industry, as it were, includes all  
of those people that make their living taking other people's work,  
making a profit on it, and giving them no return. This is the exact  
thing that patents were intended to prevent.


Geoff.

-- 
geoffrey mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
Jerusalem Israel geoffreymendelson at gmail.com