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Software progress happens without patents

Revision as of 11:14, 11 October 2009 by Ciaran (talk | contribs) (add reference for MS dev of windows95 without patents)

Not only are there studies showing that patents are blocking innovation and research, but there is also decades of proof that software progress happens without patents.

Examples

History shows that software innovation and research clearly do not need patents.

Microsoft Windows 95

Microsoft DOS and Windows 95 are two examples. In 1995, Microsoft had only 77 patents.[1]

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.

GNU/Linux

Free software such as the GNU/Linux and FreeBSD operating systems which were developed without patents.

The WWW and email

The World Wide Web is another example, and email is another.

External links

References