Can FOSS and Software Patents coexist?
summary
Argument: software patents function as exclusionary monopolies that clash with FOSS sharing and make lawful development risky. Evidence: 38% of US patent litigation concerns software, India is granting exponentially more software patents since 2016, and the US has some 11,000 e‑commerce patents. Defenses built include Open Invention Network buying about $100M in patents via a front to protect Linux, prior‑art bounties (~$2k–$3k) that have invalidated patents, plus an endsoftwarepatents resource and a volunteer prior‑art working group.
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Software patents and FOSS
- 1:07What are patents
- 3:14FOSS Four Freedoms vs exclusivity
- 4:41Risks to developers
- 6:51Open Invention Network strategy
- 8:55Why patents threaten freedoms
- 11:22Collaborative vs proprietary innovation
- 12:45India’s software patent push
- 14:32How to fight software patents
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