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protection.info
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1992-11-03
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This is Info file protection.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.43 from the input file protection.texi.
The Software Protection Racket
===============================
"Protection" is the euphemism lawyers and businessmen use as a dress
for monopolies such as patents. The word "patent" is itself a
eupemism, invented by an English barrister 350 years ago to cover up
the persistent granting of monopolies contrary to the requirements of
the Statute of Monopolies.
Inventors have been American icons, so the word "patent" has
acquired a positive connotation: it suggests a natural right which an
inventor deserves. This emotional response makes it hard for people
to question the presumption that patents are just and good.
The word "protection" adds to this unconscious bias. It suggests a
kind of shield, a defensive weapon. Actually, software patents are not
shields; they are swords used by one business to destroy others. A
person who thinks in terms of the word "protection" may find it hard
to recognize this truth, despite all the evidence.
When we use the euphemisms of the opposing side, we give implicit
acquiescence to a complex of ideas which supports their position. This
is not a good way to convince people they are wrong.
Since lawyers regard "protection" as proper usage, you may feel
pressed to use the word so as not to sound ignorant. If you yield, you
will give implicit support to the underpinnings of their position each
time you use it.
Instead of adopting their word, take the opportunity when they use
it to explain its bias, and thus their bias. You can say that you will
use instead a word that reflects your position the way "protection"
reflects theirs: the word "monopoly".
Another useful thing you can say is that the kind of protection a
programmer really needs is protection *from patents*.