NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/comp/sys/mac/programm/20742

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-06 | 2.5 KB

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Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools,comp.windows.ms.programmer
Path: sparky!uunet!nevada.edu!jimi!brownie.cs.unlv.edu!grover
From: [e-mail] (Kevin Grover)
Subject: Re: Stallman and friends
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (News User)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Information Science Research Institute (UNLV-ISRI)
References:  <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 93 00:32:22 GMT
Lines: 38

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Michael Peirce) writes:
)
) As to making "rash" comments, my comments were quite considered.
) I've been anti-GNU for years now.  They simple don't believe that
) people like me have the right to protect work as intellectual
) property.  I make a living developing software and selling it - I
) take this whole subject very seriously and I view the FSF ideas as
) a threat.
)

Have you read any of the FSF literature?  It was my understanding
(from the reading and a talk Stalman gave) that the idea of the FSF
was not necessaraly that all software should be free, but rather that
you should be free to write what you want.  I.e. there should be no
software patents or look and feel patents.

This DOES NOT mean that you can copy someones code!!  The code would
still be protected by a copyright.  He wants to help lowever software
cost by eliminating many useless patents awarded for ideas that have
been around for a long time (i.e. back and store, and xor to a
screen!).  Many things that A LOT of moderatly clever programmers
would probably come up w/ themselves if they had a need for them, but
now can not use due to the patents.  There is a lot of cost(time)
involved in researching patents and paying for the use of those you
might violate.  In fact, there are companies that do nothing but sell
patents.

This is a grossly over simplification of what I remember.  There are
many other points, and there are also some drawbacks (i.e. like what
if a little 2 man company creates a wonderfull new program to do
something in a very easy way, what's to stop a major company from
duplicating the idea.  The large company could pay for more and better
advertising, etc.  However, the question may not have any meaning
because, even if the compan 'stole` the program and the little company
sued, the large company could keep the thing in court until the little
company was broke)

- kev