Arguing against software patents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Arguing against softw ar transparents - try on ExampleSoftware should not be patented, they say? (Anthypophora) Yes, it is only right that software should not be patented since it would not manage sense to grant one person the right to a whizz innovation thereby making it impossible for any(prenominal) other person to come up with the alike(p) or even better piece of innovation.In legion(predicate) instances, software patent lay is shrouded by assumptions and myths (Bird and Jain 56). When one reads the arguments presented online about the criticisms of software patents, it is hard to miss the frequent misunderstanding, unnecessary exaggeration, considerable junto theory and even misdirected equivocation which render these most of these arguments null and without substance (accumulatio). In other words, these arguments are baseless and should not be taken seriously. A good example of an argument that does not bind water at all is based on claims that software patents are use d as schemes by greedy copyright lawyers who are out to make an extra buck by destroying patent bulwark (Stobbs 45). Despite such arguments as the one mentioned here (concession), there are some(prenominal) rock immobile (metaphor) arguments against software patentability which make sense. One argument that carries a lot of weight, and one that has been frequently mentioned in many respectable circles is that the patents can potentially encourage the creation and development of what are commonly referred to as patent thickets. In the world of technology, according to Stobbs (52) patent thickest are those numerous patents that are interconnected and researchers normally clear a hard time navigating through them when they want to develop new technologies. There are deuce major types of thickets which can arise from software patent. The first type is the one that is characterized by a ace innovation and it can be protected by more than one patent holder. This means that any indivi dual interested in the development of certain software can obtain different licenses from some(prenominal) owners. The other type of thicket is one which allows for a product to be covered under many different patents as opposed to just one. The presence of these thickets in the software industry may incur the cost of innovation to rise and inefficiency in terms of growth. Some people argue that software patents stick out economic value. However this value is usually undermined by the lack of a clear way of search the software for patenting purposes (concession). This results from the fact that software patents are rarely indexed in any way that can make sense. This makes keyword searches on the software in question very hard and ineffective. There is also the question of legislation. In most cases, one cannot conduct patent libraries in the public domain due to stringent good obstacles (Burgunder 26). The economic benefits of software patents are thus undermined since they nor mally depend on technical disclosures as comfortably as patent claims which can only be found in the public domain. If an individual was to guide a patent lawyer to conduct a clearance search, it would not be