

More patents in the service of open source - slashdotaccount
http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2013/08/more-patents-in-service-of-open-source.html

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dnautics
Does anyone know of a better mechanism besides patent pledges to allow for
things to be open source and protected from predatory patenting? I've founded
a nonprofit research entity (launching in 2014), and in our bylaws we are
required to not patent things. Initially, I wanted to use the Statutory
Invention Registration system to keep things _libre_ and getting some level of
protection without defensive patenting, but it turns out that as a result of
the America Invents Act, the SIR has been eliminated.

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dllthomas
DPL
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_Patent_License](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_Patent_License))
looked somewhat promising, but I'm still trying to figure out just how I feel
about some of the details. Obviously, you'd have to change your bylaws to
participate.

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dnautics
yeah, changing the bylaws is certainly an option, but if possible, I don't
want to do anything that could even remotely be intepreted as setting the
precedent of waffling on the issue.

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cLeEOGPw
Those patent trolls are the same as computer hackers. They hack the legal
system. But the government is too occupied with more important issues to fix
this, rather complicated "bug". I wonder if it would be possible to design a
legal system that would work similarly to an open-source project, where anyone
could contribute, just not all contributions accepted, etc.

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dllthomas
_" I wonder if it would be possible to design a legal system that would work
similarly to an open-source project, where anyone could contribute, just not
all contributions accepted, etc."_

Strictly speaking, that's sort of the case. Nothing stops you from drafting a
bill and handing it to your legislator's staff. Of course, the bar for being
"accepted" is high, and probably depends on some things it shouldn't.

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cLeEOGPw
What are the examples of those things oh which the law would depend? Now as
you said it, i remembered a law that was supposedly written by public in
Finland, but only now "understood" what it actually meant.

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alxndr
off-topic: how did Blogspot break the history back button so hard?

