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To: TimF who wrote (183418)	2/3/2006 7:14:01 PM
From: BelowTheCrowd	Respond to of 186894

I'm not sure I agree with that, but I'm open to the idea that at least in certain areas we may be past that point. Not just with patents but with copyrights that never expire (they have an expiration date but the date gets extended before it is reached). I think we're violently agreeing. I wouldn't trash patents or copyrights, but would suggest that there are many abuses, and many companies use them to supress competition rather than to achieve a reasonable return on their investment. The point of view of the authors of that paper (actually, it's first draft of a book) are most certainly charting a course more radical than I would. I find that reading through an extreme but well-thought viewpoint can at times be enlightening. It's not easy reading, I've read through a couple of chapters and skimmed some others. Made me think, which is the best thing I can say about any book. Personally, I'd focus changes on a mechanism to get rid of "patent squatters" who basically make it their business to patent a variety of minor ideas, do nothing whatsoever with them, and hope that somebody will come along and give them an excuse to sue. (Yeah, I got NTP/RIMM on my mind, but also the thousands of patented proteins whose owners do nothing with them -- because they're not useful on their own -- but hold them up for ransom and prevent their use in any larger-scale cure.) -btc