[Office-commits] r9920 - trunk/campaigns/patents

[sysadmin]

Author: johns
Date: Thu Oct  1 16:17:06 2009
New Revision: 9920

Log:
Progress, close, I think -- need a few things from Ciaran.

Modified:
   trunk/campaigns/patents/bilski-supreme-court-brief.mdwn

Modified: trunk/campaigns/patents/bilski-supreme-court-brief.mdwn
==============================================================================
--- trunk/campaigns/patents/bilski-supreme-court-brief.mdwn     Thu Oct  1 
15:59:55 2009        (r9919)
+++ trunk/campaigns/patents/bilski-supreme-court-brief.mdwn     Thu Oct  1 
16:17:06 2009        (r9920)
@@ -2,45 +2,58 @@
 
 BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Thursday, October 1, 2009 -- The Free
 Software Foundation (FSF) today submitted an amicus curiae brief
-calling on the Supreme Court to remove software ideas from the scope
-of patentable subject matter. While clearly showing that patents
-threaten all software development, the FSF's brief emphasizes the
-impact that the free software movement and the GNU General Public
-License (GNU GPL) have had on computer use in both the private and
-public sectors, in spite of this threat.
-
-The FSF founder Richard Stallman and the free software movement have
-been campaigning against software patents since the late 1980s. (Need
-a sentence about Bilski history here -- mention that we filed a brief
-previously as well, and brief background about the case.) This is the
-Supreme Court's first review of patentable scope since 1981's *Diamond
-v. Diehr*.
-
-Ciaran O'Riordan, executive director of the End Software Patents
-campaign, explained, "Every software patent is something you can't use
-your computer to do, that is to say, in the USA today there are
-100,000 (GET REAL NUMBER - from Patent Failure or maybe Bessen & Hunt)
-things you're prohibited from doing with your computer. Since then,
-software patents have proven to be a economic failure too, and by
-hindering the progress of the useful arts, they've failed the
+calling on the Supreme Court to affirm that software ideas are not
+patentable. The FSF's brief shows clearly that patents threaten all
+software development as well as individual free expression, and
+emphasizes the positive impact that the free software movement and the
+GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) have had on computer use in both
+the private and public sectors without using the supposed incentive of
+patents.
+
+FSF founder Richard Stallman and the free software movement have been
+campaigning worldwide against software patents since the late 1980s,
+but the effort in the United States has recently come to a head. In
+April of 2008, the FSF through its End Software Patents (ESP) campaign
+filed an amicus curiae brief in the Court of Appeals for the Federal
+Circuit's (CAFC) rehearing of the *in re Bilski* case, noting that the
+hearing was "an historic opportunity to fix the US patent system." On
+October 30, the CAFC issued its ruling, which effectively gutted
+patents on program ideas running on general-purpose computers. In June
+of this year, the Supreme Court decided to review the case, making
+this their first review of patentable scope since 1981's *Diamond v.
+Diehr*.
+
+ESP executive director Ciaran O'Riordan explained, "Every software
+patent is something you can't use your computer to do. In the US today
+that means there are 100,000 (GET REAL NUMBER - from Patent Failure or
+maybe Bessen & Hunt) things you're prohibited from doing with your
+computer. Software patents have also proven to be an economic failure,
+and by hindering the progress of the useful arts, they've failed the
 consitutional mandate that created them. The Supreme Court has itself
 never authorized the patenting of software ideas, so there's real hope
 that this problem can finally be solved."
 
-Getting information about the GPL and free software in front of the
-Supreme Court
-
-Quote from the interest section of the brief
-
-Quote from the argument section of the brief
-
-O'Riordan also credited the free software community for its help in
-preparing the brief, saying, "Much of the material for this brief came
-from our public wiki at swpat.org. For each point we decided to make,
-we used the wiki to find references and quotes and further information
--- and I hope other brief drafters found it useful too. If anyone
-wants to help, then building the wiki is the easiest way to get
-involved."
+The 24-page brief further details the commonly noted outrageous risks
+and expenses imposed by patents, which prevent potential software
+developers from participating in the system, but also highlights the
+deeper injustices: "This inability to participate on an even basis
+amplifies the problem, but there is also a deeper problem: losing
+control of one’s computing in his or her daily life. Because
+individuals can write software, they can help themselves and solve
+their own problems. Given that software development includes common
+activities such as making a webpage, the freedom to use a computer as
+you see fit for your daily life is a fundamental form of expression,
+just as using a pen and paper is."
+
+The impact of the patent system on individuals was evidenced by the
+community research effort for the brief. O'Riordan credited the free
+software community for its help, saying, "Much of the material for
+this brief came from our public wiki at swpat.org. For each point we
+decided to make, we used the wiki to find references and quotes and
+further information -- and I hope other brief drafters found it useful
+too. Contributing to this resource is a great way for people to get
+involved in the campaign -- there is still much work to be done to
+eliminate software patents worldwide."
 
 The full text of the brief is available online at
 <http://endsoftpatents.org/amicus-bilski-2009>.