Had to post this after seeing it on Slashdot on this article: Open Source Music Fingerprinter Gets Patent Nastygram.
This is half the reason I really hate the industry I’m in. If I come up with what I think is a neat and original idea, implement it, and start a business around it.. somewhere in that process, I might get a lovely message saying I am infringing on a software patent.
Looking back to Dmitry Sklyarov‘s arrest in 2001, they took 6 months of his life and never said anything close to sorry (from what I remember of the story at least). Sure, he was doing something that I morally don’t agree with, but it was legal for him to do in Russia so there is no reason that things should have gone as far as they did. Sure, since I’m not going to be creating something like his project anytime soon (or at least, not that obviously) but I don’t want to get thrown in jail for any amount of time because somebody else has a patent somewhere that fscks me over. I’m a huge supporter of Open Source and I wouldn’t be surprised if something that I make in the next 20+ years falls under some patent somewhere and I get a lovely letter someday..
Software patents need some work.. but I know I don’t have the answers other than knowing I don’t like them. =)