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Analogies

Revision as of 16:35, 30 November 2009 by Mhkay (talk | contribs) (Music)

Sometimes analogies help to explain this to people new to the area.

Minefield

Richard Stallman has frequently mentioned this analogy in parts of his speeches:

This analogy omits one aspect: when you step on a mine, the damage is instant. When you violate a patent, the patent holder be aware and might threaten you immediately, or they might decide to let you continue to build you project on that idea and then threaten you later, or they might not be aware now but they will threaten you later when they become aware. This happens most consequently regarding standards.

With each step, probably nothing happens, but you have to take so many steps, there's no chance of getting across the minefield without stepping on one.

Literature

Richard Stallman:

Timothy B. Lee, of The Cato Institute:

Music

Software is not unlike music. Writing software or music is a purely intellectual process, though both require some kind of machine to lend them expression. In both fields, very few individuals ever come up with totally original ideas, yet every composer or programmer has minor new ideas every day. In both fields, the ideas are highly abstract: how would one describe the idea of taking a musical theme and writing variations on it in patent lawyers' language? In both fields, independent invention without copying is not only a theoretical possibility, it happens frequently. In both fields, the test of what is "obvious" is completely subjective. Music, fortunately, is not troubled by patents. But this does not seem to have prevented composers from innovating.

By Chris Lale, January 2003:

Again citing Richard Stallman: