Ok, lots of shit to report on today. Lots. And lots. The world of the inner. The world of the outer. It's all happening. I fear that by the time I finish this one, I will already be cutting into what should be sleep time, without having even begun the content vulture-ism in which I so much like to engage.

Where to begin. Software patents. Yes. Software patents.

Today I did indeed sit down for a talk with the department head honcho. It went... interestingly. Not quite what I had expected, and at the same time, very normal. Umm... Hmmm. Alright, let's try the direct approach.

I was sort of going in expecting to be asked for an explication of my beliefs. To clarify -- or perhaps justify -- what my thoughts on the matter are. Apparently, though, I must have done a sufficient job of that in my email, because he... (I think I need a letter here. I'll say "M", for no apparent reason except to be totally arbitrary.) M began by giving an explanation of where he, and the company stands.

Let me see if I can summarize. The reasons the company would be pursuing patents be to try to prove that we were first to do something. If somebody else saw what we did, (such as .....

[Well sheit. Dagobah had me scared for a bit there. Totally locked up the ssh session for a few seconds. A switching of the monitor revealed that the ide spasms were happening again. Working now though. Perhaps I will need to accellerate the schedule with which I migrate some of these critical services over to Argo.]

What was I saying? Oh yes. That if we patent something, another company (possibly much larger, and with more name recognition) would have a much harder time trying to claim that they "invented" something that we came up with. This could be especially tricky if it were a business partner, and looked at what we have made (but not released). Then go duplicate it, and claim first rights. (Maybe even patenting the concept themselves.) With a patent, we could say "No you didn't. Here's the patent we applied for on X date to prove it."

There's also the issue of trivial vs non-trivial patents. He mentioned a company (In the U.K., I think? There might have even been a slashdot headline about it a few weeks ago, but I forget) that had taken out a patent on hyperlinks. An example of a trivial patent. Not what we want to be engaging in.

He told me he had done some net research on patents on things we are currently doing, and hasn't been able to find examples of prior art for this specific thing we're doing. (And admitted that it can be difficult to search for such things, because it's so easy to not find something that might be hiding off in some obscure corner.) Yes, there are examples of companies doing "similar" things, but we appear to be the first to be going about it in this certain way and set of conditions.

(Unfortunately, since I haven't worked at all on the item in question, nor do I know much at all about it, I was neither able to confirm nor refute claims about the non-triviality and originality of said patent.)

If someone else were to independly come up with the same concept. he certainly wouldn't advocate going after them, and if such a thing were to happen, he would have a "moral dilemma" of his own to contend with. (When I created the email, I used the exact same subject line as the one sent to the trusted friends.)

At one point, he actually answered a question I had been planning to ask before I even got around to asking! If Cobalt were to come out with a product -- code they wrote, but an obviously a blatent imitation of a product we made -- would we prosecute? The answer: Very likely, yes.

(When I planned this question which was answered before it could be asked, I didn't even have a specific answer in mind that would be "right" for me. Obviously, I don't like software patents, and I don't like legal battles. But nasty behavior, well.. How would you react? I really just wanted to get a feel for where the limits might be.)

It was also pointed out that for a smaller company like us, getting patents is not that easy. He wasn't even certain that the patent office would approve ours. (I wasn't convinced here. Based on recent events, I'm of the strong suspicion that if I tried to patent the concept of "Transferring one's personal thoughts into a web page through use of a text editor", it would likely be waved right through.)

For larger companies, apparently it's easier. He once visited a company where there was an entire wall coverd with tiny little plaques, each one representing a patent. On software.

And some companies take out patents, and choose not to enforce them. Something I was not even aware of: There is a company that patented the concept of Network Address Translation. They choose not to enforce it, but keep the patent any to prove that they did it first.

So... to protect ourselves from the predators (which there are), it's... well... some measures are necessary.

He asked if I had any more questions. Well, he had given me a fairly clear idea of where things were going. And some things, not even someone up the chain can always know. (In some cases, he could say what "he" would be for, but couldn't guarantee that the company would always go the same way.) He expressed hope that they wouldn't lose my talent (I guess a little mild flattery never hurts), but I would have to decide what I was comfortable with. Fair enough.

On the way out, a reassuring, "Can you breath again?" lol. I guess I was pretty damn nervous. And it showed.

So.... impressions, decisions, courses of action. Well, lots of random thoughts floating around, which I would like to try to express at least some of here. This is Random Ramblings, after all. :)

I believe there exists a significant gulf between how the corporate world sees things versus how we do. (The "we" being very vaguely defined as those of us who are into the hobbiest computing experience, the free software culture, the slashdot reading lunatic, content vultures, etc.)

We see software patents (some of us, maybe even all patents) as an evil. We seem them as an method of intimidation -- an attempt to yank control from the individuals, the little guys, the people who love the technology, and give it instead to the lawyers and suits. It becomes not about what you can code, but what you are allowed by the law to code.

The corporates have a different view, and after having heard a little more of their side, I don't believe it's entirely baseless. A mark to distinguish what you have accomplished. An honor. A tangible sign of recognition that "I came up with this." Personally, I spurn such things, which is why not having a college diploma (or a high school one, for that matter) doesn't bother me. Some people go for that sort of stuff. For them, it represents a reward well earned.

Well, here's the deal: Obviously, I'm not thrilled with the patent situation in general. Therefore, my company's participation in it is... not thrilling either. At the same time, I have to recognize that this is a reality of the business world. If an organization such as the one I'm in dropped its weapons, its defenses, it could very well be crushed.

I've decided that at least for the foreseeable future, unless something changes, I won't be leaving over this. The decision is largely because, after what I've heard, I am convinced that we won't be engaging in any egregious assaults on the defenseless. I don't think the intent is to extort. This is also because I believe the people who I work around to possess integrety. I didn't feel like I was being lied to, or sold a bill of goods. It was more like, "To the best of my knowledge, this is how things are. If you can't handle that, then we'll be sad to see you leave, but you gotta do what you gotta do."

Subsequently, after the conversation was long over, the philosophy of WWXD came to mind. (Okay, all the non-Xenites are going to think this hokey, but for me, it's a fscking revelation!) Xena carries weapons. The chakram -- it kills. The sword -- it can slice off heads. If Xena is good, why does she keep these things? Well, duh. There's evil in the world. So what's to differentiate the bad guys who carry weapons from the good, who also possess the power of death? It's how they use them. It comes down to the honor of the individual who exercises that power. Do you trust them? Do you believe them?

Then there are the Eli's of the world. They believe that the future should not be determined by warriors. They refuse to retaliate. They refuse to kill. The world which Eli seeks is the ideal. He is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in order for it to happen.

Then there are the Gabrielle's, who are searching for the way. Is it the way of Eli? The way of the warrior? The way of love, or the way of friendship? To rise up and fight evil with a sword, or walk the path of the enlightened?

(I think I'll have to dig out my VHS copy of Seeds of Faith and watch it again this weekend. That episode is so totally applicable.)

So, now this is what we end up with. Bitscape concluding the patent discussion by going off on random Xena tangents, is it? Perhaps that is a sign that it's time to move on.

Since I have more topics to cover, and this one has gone on so long, I think I'll submit this one, take a brief intermission, and then begin the "normal" fun-filled thoughts about life. Then, hopefully get a wink of sleep in before morning. Back in a few.