Re: Why DRM exists [was Re: Flame Linus to a crisp!]

Scott Robert Ladd
2003-04-29T16:29:39Z

Theodore Ts'o wrote:
> Well, there is the question about whether Microsoft would really want
> a law which made it illegal to duplicate the (unpatented) design of a
> competitor's product, given that Microsoft does that *all* the time.

The law is not applied equally, however. Microsoft has the resources to
fight any action taken against it; thus, a law that restricts you (with
your limited resources) may not hinder Microsoft at all.

> In the business world, engineers purchase competitors' products and
> rip them apart to see what makes them tick *all* *the* *time*. Ford
> does it GM cars, and Crystler does it to Toyota cars, etc., etc.
> Anything important where they don't want that to happen is patented.

Precisely. I've done this myself with various pieces of technology.

The problem is a broken patent system that allows common knowledge to be
"protected." I've strongly considered trying to get a patent on B-trees
or QuickSort, just to see if the patent office is as foolish as they
seem. The reason I can tear down the engine on my truck is because it
poses no threat to the manufacturer; no one has a patent on the concept
of a piston (though they may patent a specific *type* of piston.)

The problem today is that the patent office will honor almost anything
with a patent; if cars were software, Ford would have a patent on
pistons that would prevent GM from building V-8s.

There is nothing wrong with the original conception of patents and
copyrights: the protection of IP creators to profit from their work
before it enters the public domain in a reasonable time period. Sadly,
corporations have legal rights, and the money to pervert the process.
Patents and copyrights need to be fixed, not destroyed.

..Scott

--
Scott Robert Ladd
Coyote Gulch Productions (http://www.coyotegulch.com)