Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: abolishing patents? (got IP game?)

Author:Kabir X
Posted:9/22/2000; 9:35:29 AM
Topic:got IP game?
Msg #:21636 (In response to 21633)
Prev/Next:21634 / 21637

Patents can potentially be used to enforce a usage policy for a given technology.

This is a potential good thing.

Technology can be very disruptive. And our economic context is completely amoral. You simply can't rely on the better angels of commerce to use technology responsibly. They don't.

The argument is made that the consumer of technology is the ultimate arbiter of which technologies are deployed and utilized. This looks fine on paper, but is that the reality? Specially in our field, the knowledge gap between the creators and users is immense -- to most people computers are simply magic. They don't understand how it works. And they certainly are not in a position to make accurate assesment of the near and long term impact of the technologies they are coaxed to embrace.

The issue is seen to be even more critical if we take into account the gradual, but certain, migration of critical social institutions and processes into the virtual, machine maintained, realm.

Reflect on T.V.: That initial, greedy, and utterly thoughtless, decision to adopt an advertising revenue model for the broadcast networks - seeminly so inconsequential - has resulted, among other things, in the nearly complete breakdown of democracy in this country. Technology is very very disruptive.

Having a mechanism which allows the creator of a given technology to constrain the use of his/her creation responsibly is a good thing. There are no other socially enforceable tools to achieve what can be done through patents in this context. Are there?

[Just imagine: what if Nuclear Fission was patented? And no one could get a license to build Atomic Bombs? License granted for peaceful purposes. Its a stretch, but I am trying to illustrate a point.]

If patents are to be abolished, then we need a mechanism that allows for the enforcement of the deployment and usage policies for a given technology.

If such a tool exists, please let me know.

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