Thursday October 14, 2004
Open Source/Software Patent Affinity As a software engineer, I have struggled over the years to understand the net impact of software patents. I have wondered what types of conversations occur at small software companies developing new product. Do the engineers expend much effort checking to see if any components infringe? Does the company management or their investors calculate the potential impact of requests for royalty payments by patent holders? A quick search reveals that the risk has not only been recognized but quantified: software patent infringement insurance does exist.
One might guess these issues are having some degree of a cooling effect on the industry; the opposite effect from the intention of the patent system which was designed to encourage innovation, sharing and profit for all. My concerns were recently inflamed by reading a ten year old paper, Software Patents: An Industry at Risk, and by following the news around Sun's righteous though expensive indemnification of Java.
Today however, I just read Tim Bray's Patent Theory essay which has helped clarify my thinking. I agree with him. His idea about the best use of the software patent system and his suggestion that an open source implementation be required to get a patent, parallels exactly my experience at Sun as an inventor and patent holder.
When I innovated a better user experience for web page and database interaction for JavaOne attendees to create their personal schedules, I was encouraged to file a patent. As soon as the filing was completed, some five years ago, I open sourced all the code and posted a demonstration showing how to implement it. Sun protected the invention from being patented by anyone else. The company's intention was to make the technology available to anyone without fear that it would ever be used against them. The patent, 6,728,769, was granted just this April.
I had been feeling guilty about being part of a system that I wasn't sure I believed in. Not anymore. I am confident that Sun has done the right thing with my innovation. Just as they have done with Java itself, they made my tiny contribution available to programmers the world over and protected them from ever worrying that using it may come back to haunt them.
I am proud to work for a company that innovates, shares with the community and does what it can to protect that community within a system that is not perfect. In an ethical world, power must always be tempered by responsibility. From my vantage point, Sun does an admirable job wielding its power responsibly. (2004-10-14 13:12:16.0)
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