"How to Save the Republican Party"

[gaelic cowboy]

Copyright and patents are meant to promote arts and science, not stifle it. Art and invention belong to the public domain, the patent/copyright term is merely a government-granted monopoly to the creator to reward the effort. It is not a license to rent-seek to the end of time.

Software patents need to be the first on the block. Software is already covered by copyright, and you aren't supposed to be able to patent math, which is all that software is.

The Democrats are owned by Hollywood when it comes to IP-related issues, this is as good a place as any for the GOP to lead the charge.

Actually patents have never really being good promoters of art and science, they are along with copyright about making sure someone get paid for there efforts.


If no one can protect the software they produce then it will be ripped off, essentially no one will pay for any of it. Now i'm guessing here that this probably wouldn't hurt the development of software, but software employment becomes much reduced.

Software companies would essentially have to compete in service provision after you bought the product, in fact they would probably have to give it away for free in order to extract rent from you instead.

no one will be willing to scrap them so at best patents will be be more easily challenged, and also the narrow definition of copying and theft of software will need to be looked at.