Open Source Mechanic blog » opensource http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog cat /dev/random | strings | grep "For being ignorant to whom it goes I writ at random, very doubtfully" Fri, 14 May 2010 18:17:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Use it or lose it patent legislation proposed in Minnesota http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog/2009/09/use-it-or-lose-it-patent-legislation-proposed-in-minnesota/ http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog/2009/09/use-it-or-lose-it-patent-legislation-proposed-in-minnesota/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:10:08 +0000 admin http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog/?p=87 My friend Ron at inventorsagarage.com found this proposed Minnesota legislation which would grant an employee the right to use a patent if his/her employer sits on the patent for too long:


(b) An employer who has a right to develop or utilize an invention or proposal
1.11must make a substantial investment in the invention or proposal within five years of the
1.12submission of the invention or proposal or forfeit all rights and interests in the invention
1.13or proposal to the employee.

I’d wondered about this possibility years ago when I noticed how common it was for an invention to languish in an employer’s defensive patent armory while everyone, including the inventor, is blocked from doing anything with it. There are many reasons for this, for example a company may be operating in a business where the patent might not be applicable. Do we want the idea for a 90% efficiency solar panel or a cure for cancer to sit in a warehouse because the inventor’s day job is at an investment firm or oil company which has absolutely no financial interest in developing the technology? Even when a new patent aligns with a company’s core business, developing the patent might not figure into to the company’s immediate business plan. SEC guidelines force companies to focus on near term (90 day) profits. IMHO this discouraged R&D and may have contributed to the fact that NASDAQ remains below the trend line set in the pre PC, pre-Internet vacuum tube era. The proposed ‘use it or lose it’ law might help uncork some of the innovations which, I imagine are sitting in a warehouse not unlike the one at the end of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’

I agree with Ron that this law has very little chance of passing, but at least it has seen the light of day. If a similar law has passed in another state or country it would be interesting to see if it encouraged innovation. I suspect it would discourage large companies who have every reason to want to maintain their patent hoard, but it would also encourage small start-ups who would take advantage of the wasted IP. Sooner or later we will reach a critical mass of inventors whose creations are kept under wraps and there will be a level of reform somewhere. Then perhaps one day the patent system will live up to the mission of creating an environment that “encourages investment in innovation, and fosters entrepreneurial spirit.”

]]> http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog/2009/09/use-it-or-lose-it-patent-legislation-proposed-in-minnesota/feed/ 0 A carpenter’s explanation of OpenSource http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog/2009/09/a-carpenters-explanation-of-opensource-software/ http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog/2009/09/a-carpenters-explanation-of-opensource-software/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:22:33 +0000 admin http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog/?p=89 Imagine that you are a shop teacher intending to teach children how to build a wooden footstool:

The shop teacher and the prefab 'lumber'yard You go to the lumberyard and ask for some lumber and nails. The guy at the lumber store shakes his head and says, "Sorry, we don't got that, we only carry EasyDone or NanoHouse products. How about this beautiful prefab bathroom?" You tell him you don't need a bathroom.
"Perhaps I can interest you in a EasyDone kitchen?" he says.
"Just wood and nails," you say. Frustration is beginning to show in your voice.
"O.K. then you must choose between an EasyDone or NanoHouse prefab livingroom."
"I only need wood and nails! Ten penny nails, 2X4s, plywood!"
"We don't sell that."
"O.K. then how much is an EasyDone bedroom, I can take it apart and use the wood and nails."
"$40,000"
"What? That is far too expensive for my budget!"
"It's fully integrated, painted, the carpet is in place and the bed is even included, it's ready to go!"
"But it doesn't do what I need. I'm only going to take it apart and we are going to use the wood in shop class."

]]> Imagine that you are a shop teacher intending to teach children how to build a wooden footstool:

The shop teacher and the prefab ‘lumber’yard

You go to the lumberyard and ask for some lumber and nails. The guy at the lumber store shakes his head and says, “Sorry, we don’t got that, we only carry EasyDone or NanoHouse products. How about this beautiful prefab bathroom?” You tell him you don’t need a bathroom.

“Perhaps I can interest you in a EasyDone kitchen?” he says.
“Just wood and nails,” you say. Frustration is beginning to show in your voice.
“O.K. then you must choose between an EasyDone or NanoHouse prefab livingroom.”
“I only need wood and nails! Ten penny nails, 2X4s, plywood!”
“We don’t sell that.”
“O.K. then how much is an EasyDone bedroom, I can take it apart and use the wood and nails.”
“$40,000″
“What? That is far too expensive for my budget!”
“It’s fully integrated, painted, the carpet is in place and the bed is even included, it’s ready to go!”
“But it doesn’t do what I need. I’m only going to take it apart and we are going to use the wood in shop class.”
“Wait a minute. Did you say something about taking it apart?”
“Yes! It doesn’t do what we need so I have to take it apart so my kids can rebuild!”
“No, I can’t sell it to you for that, it’s against the law, violates the EULA. Besides, all the joints are epoxy rivet-welded together. You couldn’t possibly take it apart without turning it into sawdust.”
“But I need the raw materials for my students to build a footstools!”
“Go away. I need someone to buy my prefab bathrooms, I have some overstock.”
“Fine!” You say, “I’ll take my business elsewhere.
“There is a NanoHouse prefab garage store down the street.” he offers.
“I’m not interested! And if I ever do need a new bathroom, I’m going to build my own!”
“Oh no you don’t. NanHouse has a patent on those.”

Opensource software is a raw material which can turned on a lathe, nailed together. It can (and must!) be replicated at any stage of customization or enhancement. Therefore, it improves as it is used. If you can’t buy exactly what you want, you can build it or put together the components and configure them to meet your needs. Free software doesn’t eliminate the need for software expertise anymore than raw lumber eliminates the need for carpenters. Free and opensource software (FOSS) is a good fit for education where thousands of schools across the country have similar, but perhaps not identical needs. Ironically, many proprietary software companies have all but abandoned the educational market because of widespread piracy of proprietary software in schools.

When schools had solid federally subsidized budgets for computers, proprietary software running on proprietary operating systems installed on proprietary fat client computers (with a shelf life of little more than one semester), may have seemed a good idea. But this was never an efficient use of funds. For some schools it was the equivalent of buying a pre-fab house for the shop class to take apart and build into footstools and candle holders. Times have changed, educational money has disappeared. Such inefficiencies are now impossible to overlook. In order to give children the best chance of a bright future where they can compete in the global economy, we need find these holes where our government is throwing tax money, and fill them as quickly as possible. It is becoming obvious that to balance their budgets, governments and educational institutions must utilize opensource software and eco-efficient, future-proof, low TCO hardware wherever possible.

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