Law in the Internet Society

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RohanGeorgeP2 4 - 09 Feb 2009 - Main.EbenMoglen
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-- RohanGeorge - 28 Jan 2009
 

Why do I study patent law?

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 Once the foundation for the patent system loses plausibility, the remainder begins to look extremely wobbly. What is the point of a system of novelty, utility and nonobviousness but to create arbitrary rulesets determining potential excludability of other creations? Why understand reexamination or infringement procedure when you are aware that it serves as nothing more than a mechanism to service an already arbitrary ruleset? The answer lies in the inherency of the patent system in almost all forms of technological development today. Irrespective of the scope for the growth of networked innovation, the actual spread of this innovation system is dependent on material to innovate from. Most of this material is tied into the patent system and owned by organisations who would seek to extend their ownership (and resulting profit) over it for as long as possible. Even now, new material is automatically deposited within this system and tied up within its complex rules and procedures. The only way in which such material can be freed is through an understanding of these rules and procedures, resulting in a knowledge of the means of their circumvention. The GPL exists as a result of the knowledge of copyright law and patent law and the ways in which it can be circumvented. Absent that knowledge, there would be no GPL. It is for this reason that I still feel that the study of patent law is relevant.
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>		-- RohanGeorge - 28 Jan 2009

  • This essay is more than twice as long as the maximum length of 1,000 words. Please edit it so that it meets requirements and then we can start to figure out what else can be done to make it better.
 
 
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Revision 4r4 - 09 Feb 2009 - 16:21:51 - EbenMoglen
Revision 3r3 - 28 Jan 2009 - 22:18:23 - RohanGeorge
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