Dr. Richard Stallman (RMS)
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Synopsis
founder of the GNU project and FSF
founding member of the League for Programming Freedom
RMS Activities on Software Patents
2004-09-28 ELUG patent talk, see media-ffii
1994-00-00 RMS Speech at USPTO Hearings (particularly well-crafted, in a nutshell)
Copyright
Others
Differences with FFII viewpoints
- In 2004 Richard Stallman began to use the wording "software idea patents". FFII speaks about "software patents", "logic patents" or "patents for 'computer-implemented' calculation rules and business methods", depending on which point we want to make. We strongly oppose the assertion or implication that there is anything inexact or inappropriate about the term "software patent". That ideas are covered is an inevitable result of applying patents to software. There can be no distinction between "software idea patents" and "software something-else patents".
Richard Stallman also occasionally rejects copyright while FFII is strongly in favour of principles underlying copyright.
Richard Stallman as many Americans rejects the Continental European understanding of Creator's rights and the teaching of author's rights (see Thomas Jefferson): (04-10-27) RMS defends against US collegue Robert Dewar his support of a FFII position as a "Historischer Kompromiss". Most FFII supporters stick to the European concept and the notion of Creatorship is fundamental for them.
- Robert Dewar: "Creator" in this context is also a propaganda term. It encourages people to view authors as semidivine deserving some special powers over mere mortals, and thus to regard copyright as a power that is theirs by right, rather than the artificial incentive which the US Constitution says it is. Richard Stallman: All that is true, but this statement is aimed at people who accept these notions of copyright, and is attempting to show that if they have this view of copyrights, then software patents are inconsistent with this new. If you are talking only to those people, perhaps this would not to much harm. However, if you make a publish statement, it will be read by other people as well, not just those. Adopting the assumptions of a certain school of thought has two effects: it facilitates convincing people of that school, and it endorses that school, thus encouraging others to join it.
- Richard Stallman often describes software patent legislation as a project pushed by megacorporations. FFII is reluctant to believe that the cited megacorporations really stand behind what their corporate patent departments say. Unless a credible economic rationale is given for the concerned company (this exists only for very few, such as Microsoft), we assume that this company is just one of many institutions that are being abused by their patent lawyers.
FFII does not always comply with Richard Stallman's wording standards, although we mostly agree with the points that RMS wants to make by promoting these standards.
Support for FFII
- RMS tour in May 2004 through Europe,
- RMS Baltics tour
- RMS Greece September 2004
