On Mon, Sep 22, 2003 at 11:37:56PM +0100, Niall Douglas wrote:
The Free Software amendment would be great, it would encourage companies to release Free Software as a means of avoiding patent requirements. The down side is that I'm not sure this amendment will get majority support.
I STRONGLY oppose such an amendment.
As per my previous email, I share your strong opposition to this amendment despite the fact that I am (obviously) a big supporter of free software.
Our argument has been that software patents are an assault on innovation generally. This amendment is basically saying "Its ok to assault innovation - provided you don't assault *our* innovation". This amendment is extremely divisive and just proposing it will alienate the majority of those that support the anti-swpat movement - myself included, as it suggests that the free software community cares more about its own ability to innovate, even if this is at the expense of the rest of the software community.
Ian.