Re: [pgsql-advocacy] Software Patents

Josh Berkus wrote:
> Bruce,
>
> > > Well, I think everyone knows where I stand on this ....
> >
> > Uh, I forgot.
>
> http://www.groklaw.net/comment.php?mode=display&sid=2005041120232361&title=How%20IBM%27s%20patent%20application%20disrupted%20PostgreSQL&type=article&order=&hideanonymous=0&pid=299028#c299082
> http://www.osdir.com/Article5033.phtml
>
> For. We should have one.

OK, I googled for "Software Patents" and found this URL:

http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/

In English, on the first page, I see this text:

If that happens, you will pay dearly. Europe's software industry will
fall victim to unscrupulous extortioners. A cartel of large corporations
will crush smaller competitors. Consequently, we will all pay more money
for less good and less secure software. You personally, your household,
your company, your government, all of us.

You'll know when you get the bill. When someone breaks into your
computer, reads your E-mails, and steals the password of your bank
account. When your computer crashes every day. When spam doesn't stop.
When prices go up and companies shut down. When people lose their jobs.

The second paragraph is particularly strange to me. It has the ranting
of a "the sky is falling" appeal, and I don't think our project wants to
be associated with that. I think the best we can do is to put up a
"News" item with a little text explaining that our project feels
software patents are "bad for open source and the computer industry in
general" and leave it at that. What I don't want to do is link to
another site where we can be associated with whatever "rant" they are
spewing out that day.

(Funny the picutres at the top of the site are from LinuxTag last year,
I think. I didn't go on the protest but saw it form outside my hotel
window.)

--
Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us
pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us | (610) 359-1001
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