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Blocking innovation and research
Software patents stiffle innovation.
Contents
Software innovation happens without patents
Free software such as the GNU/Linux operating system were developed without patents. Free software includes a lot of innovation, so software innovation clearly doesn't depend on patents. Not only does software innovation happens without patents, but it actually happens better without patents.
Studies
- 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
