From: phil osborn (philosborn@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun Dec 26 1999 - 21:57:37 MST
>From: Sasha Chislenko <sasha1@netcom.com>
>Subject: Re: Patents
>Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 20:53:21 -0600
>
From: Phil Osborn - oops, was working my way backward from 12.26.99 - see my
next post. Yes, glad to see this idea catching on. I was trying to promote
it 20 years ago. However, I suggest that you start thinking about the
possibility of a real "social contract."
>I like the idea of publishing as an alternative to patents.
>It doesn't protect your rights, but it at least guarantees equal
>footing with others - even more, as you get known as the
>original innovator, and people believe that you may have more
>techniques that are not published. I find this to be very
>relevant in my work with recommendation systems, where all
>patentable things, like "using the plurality of other users'
>opinions to recommend content to the user" just name the area,
>while your ability to deliver working scalable systems depends
>on your experience in design, and trade secrets.
>
>In many cases, this may be not true, and the publication actually
>reveals crucial design tips. Now, what if you publish something
>in a limited edition, or create a system incorporating the technology
>and make sure you'll be able to prove later its status as "prior art"?
>That would give you protection from other people's patents later
>(though not a monopoly guaranteed by your own patent), while not
>disclosing anything too early.
>
>For information technology, the "prior art" can be deposited in some
>date-stamped storage in encrypted form. That used to be common
>practice for discovery formulas in good old times, as I understand,
>such as discovery of Saturn's rings, etc.
>
>There are probably other similar ways of non-violent and non-participant
>resistance to the patent system.
>
>None of this though gives companies incentives *not to take part* in
>the patent system (except suggesting alternatives and making patents
>still more questionable as their defensibility decreases).
>
>As patents give protection to a company that filed it, apparently at
>the expense of competitors and consumers, a market solution to the
>problem would be provided by the competitors and consumers giving
>the inventor comparable or greater benefits for not patenting the
>technology. There may be many possible ways to do this. One - if
>the consumers were as interested in maintaining healthy social
>environment - would be putting signs on products "made by the original
>inventor of unpatented technology", or "all inventors have been
>compensated", along with the popular signs indicating that a given
>brand of soap or chicken was not tested on animals.
>
>I would expect that the well-funded Idea Bank or the UN Office of
>Socially Useful Inventions would be collecting and promoting these
>methods (on some planet ;-) )
>
>
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------
>Sasha Chislenko <http://www.lucifer.com/~sasha/home.html>
>
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