We therefore disagree with pretty much everything Richard Stallman – originator of the GNU project, and founder of the Free Software Foundation – has ever had to say about the alleged "evils" of software patents and copyright.
To be clear, we have nothing against free software per se, whether that is freedom of the "free beer" or "free speech" variety. We just do not share the quasi-religious belief that freedom-of-software is some sort of inalienable human right that should supersede the right of commercial organisations to conduct their businesses as openly or proprietarily as they see fit. Nor do we believe that someone whose business happens to rely upon the development and distribution of embedded or stand-alone software should be denied the same legal opportunities and protections afforded to those in more "traditional" technologies.
But this is not to say that the system is perfect, or that it should not be subject to scrutiny, challenge and debate. And we are nothing if not fair! Stallman is a highly intelligent and committed individual who has devoted much of his life to a cause that he believes in passionately. We have seen him speak on a previous occasion, and found his ideas to be thought-provoking, as well as infuriating!
Stallman will be giving a number of seminars over the next month or so in Australia, on the topic of Free Software in Ethics and Practice. The dates of which we are aware are as follows:
- Victoria – Wednesday 15 September 2010, Melbourne University, Copland Theatre.
- Queensland – Thursday 23 September 2010, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
- ACT – Wednesday 6 October 2010, ANU, Manning Clark Centre.
- NSW – Monday 11 October 2010, UNSW, Clancy Auditorium.
And on a related note, if you have not completed our Software Patents Survey yet, we intend to close it at the end of this week, so this is your last chance!
Before You Go…
Thank you for reading this article to the end – I hope you enjoyed it, and found it useful. Almost every article I post here takes a few hours of my time to research and write, and I have never felt the need to ask for anything in return.
But now – for the first, and perhaps only, time – I am asking for a favour. If you are a patent attorney, examiner, or other professional who is experienced in reading and interpreting patent claims, I could really use your help with my PhD research. My project involves applying artificial intelligence to analyse patent claim scope systematically, with the goal of better understanding how different legal and regulatory choices influence the boundaries of patent protection. But I need data to train my models, and that is where you can potentially assist me. If every qualified person who reads this request could spare just a couple of hours over the next few weeks, I could gather all the data I need.
The task itself is straightforward and web-based – I am asking participants to compare pairs of patent claims and evaluate their relative scope, using an online application that I have designed and implemented over the past few months. No special knowledge is required beyond the ability to read and understand patent claims in technical fields with which you are familiar. You might even find it to be fun!
There is more information on the project website, at claimscopeproject.net. In particular, you can read:
- a detailed description of the study, its goals and benefits; and
- instructions for the use of the online claim comparison application.
Thank you for considering this request!
Mark Summerfield
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