Difference between revisions of "Blocking innovation and research"
m (→External links: * "Effects of Software Patents on Free/Open Source/User Innovation", [http://www.researchoninnovation.org/swconf/hippelslides.ppt slides] / [http://www.researchoninnovation.org/sw) |
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==Studies== | ==Studies== | ||
| + | For a full list, see [[Studies on economics and innovation]]. Here we highlight a few: | ||
* [[An Empirical Look at Software Patents]] "''...We find evidence that software patents substitute for R&D at the firm level; they are associated with lower R&D intensity...''" | * [[An Empirical Look at Software Patents]] "''...We find evidence that software patents substitute for R&D at the firm level; they are associated with lower R&D intensity...''" | ||
* [[The EuroLinux petition]] - 400,000 signatures against the harm of software patents to innovation and [[Preventing competition|competition]] | * [[The EuroLinux petition]] - 400,000 signatures against the harm of software patents to innovation and [[Preventing competition|competition]] | ||
Revision as of 06:25, 15 August 2009
Software patents block innovation and research.
Contents
Software innovation happens without patents
Lots of widely used innovative software was and is developed without patents. Microsoft DOS and Windows are two examples. After Microsoft attained a dominant market position, they started saying patents were necessary for software development, but they actually wrote their software before they started getting patents.
A clearer example is free software such as the GNU/Linux and FreeBSD operating systems which were developed without patents.
The World Wide Web is another example, and email is another.
Software innovation and research clearly do not need patents. Further, there is a lot of evidence (below) to show that patents are actually blocking innovation and research in the field of software.
Studies
For a full list, see Studies on economics and innovation. Here we highlight a few:
- An Empirical Look at Software Patents "...We find evidence that software patents substitute for R&D at the firm level; they are associated with lower R&D intensity..."
- The EuroLinux petition - 400,000 signatures against the harm of software patents to innovation and competition
Examples
When explaining why Google were not supporting the patent-free Ogg Theora codec, Chris DiBona repled "here's the challenge: Can theora move forward without infringing on the other video compression patents?".[1]
External links
- How Patent Trolls Are A Tax On Innovation, by venture capitalist Fred Wilson
- Markets Are Better Than Patents in Promoting Intellectual Discovery, Says Caltech-led Team of Economists
- Telling the Truth About Software Patents and Innovation, by Andy Updegrove
- The Most Important Software Innovations, David Wheeler
- Intellectual Property Regime Stifles Science and Innovation, Nobel Laureates Say
- "Effects of Software Patents on Free/Open Source/User Innovation", slides / video (works with Gnash)
