www/philosophy trivial-patent.html

[Richard M. Stallman]

CVSROOT:        /webcvs/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Richard M. Stallman <rms>       10/08/20 21:47:33

Modified files:
        philosophy     : trivial-patent.html 

Log message:
        Get rid of letters on parts of the patent claim.
        Add a few concluding words.
        Fix typo.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/trivial-patent.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.15&r2=1.16

Patches:
Index: trivial-patent.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/philosophy/trivial-patent.html,v
retrieving revision 1.15
retrieving revision 1.16
diff -u -b -r1.15 -r1.16
--- trivial-patent.html 18 Aug 2010 08:33:31 -0000      1.15
+++ trivial-patent.html 20 Aug 2010 21:47:16 -0000      1.16
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@
 
 <p>This says they are using a server on a network.</p>
 
-<p><i>the method comprising the steps of: * a) using the remote user's
+<p><i>the method comprising the steps of: using the remote user's
 computer to establish a telecommunications link to the network web
 site</i></p>
 
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@
 more than one selection on this disk.  Of course, every file system
 will let you store more than one file.</p>
 
-<p><i>* b) transmitting user identification data from the remote
+<p><i>transmitting user identification data from the remote
 user's computer to the central host server thereby allowing the
 central host server to identify and track the user's progress through
 the network web site;</i></p>
@@ -121,27 +121,27 @@
 access&mdash;a common (though nasty) thing for web servers to do.  I
 believe it was common already in 1996.</p>
 
-<p><i>* c) choosing at least one pre-selected portion of the
+<p><i>choosing at least one pre-selected portion of the
 pre-recorded music products from the central host server;</i></p>
 
 <p>In other words, the user clicks to say which link to follow.  That
 is typical for web servers; if they had found another way to do it,
 that might have been an invention.</p>
 
-<p><i>* d) receiving the chosen pre-selected portion of the
+<p><i>receiving the chosen pre-selected portion of the
 pre-recorded products; and</i></p>
 
 <p>When you follow a link, your browser reads the contents.  This is
 typical behavior for a web browser.</p>
 
-<p><i>* e) interactively previewing the received chosen pre-selected
+<p><i>interactively previewing the received chosen pre-selected
 portion of the pre-recorded music product.</i></p>
 
 <p>This says that your browser plays the music for you.  (That is what
 many browsers do, when you follow a link to an audio file.)</p>
 
 <p>Now you see how they padded this claim to make it into a complex
-idea: they combined their own idea (stated in two lins of text) with
+idea: they combined their own idea (stated in two lines of text) with
 important aspects of what computers, networks, web servers, and web
 browsers do.  This adds up to the so-called invention
 for which they received the patent.</p>
@@ -195,14 +195,17 @@
 practical way to get rid of the many obvious patents on software
 features and business practices is to get rid of all patents in those
 fields.  Fortunately, that would be no loss: the unobvious patents in
-the software field do no good either.</p>
+the software field do no good either.  What software patents do is put
+software developers and users under threat.</p>
 
 <p>The patent system is supposed, intended, to promote progress, and
 those who benefit from software patents ask us to believe without
 question that they do have that effect.  But programmers' experience
 shows otherwise.  New theoretical analysis shows that this is no paradox.
 (See <a href="http://www.researchoninnovation.org/patent.pdf";>
-http://www.researchoninnovation.org/patent.pdf</a>.)</p>
+http://www.researchoninnovation.org/patent.pdf</a>.)  There is no reason
+why society should expose software developers and users to the danger
+of software patents.</p>
 </div>
 
 <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
@@ -233,7 +236,7 @@
 <p>
 Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2010/08/18 08:33:31 $
+$Date: 2010/08/20 21:47:16 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>