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

Arguing against software patents - Essay Example Software should not be patented, they say? (Anthypophora) Yes, it is only right that software should not be patented since it would not make sense to grant one person the right to a single innovation thereby making it impossible for any other person to come up with the same or even better piece of innovation. In many 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 conspiracy 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 hold water at all is based on claims that software patents are used as schemes by greedy copyright lawyers who are out to make an extra buck by destroying patent protection (Stobbs 45). Despite such arguments as the one mentioned here (concession), there are many rock solid (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 th at 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 have a hard time navigating through them when they want to develop new technologies. There are two major types of thickets which can arise from software patent. The first type is the one that is characterized by a single innovation and it can be protected by more than one patent holder. This means that any individual interested in the development of certain software can obtain different licenses from several 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 cause the cost of innovation to rise and inefficiency in terms of growth. Some people argue that software patents have eco nomic value. However this value is usually undermined by the lack of a clear way of searching 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 legal obstacles (Burgunder 26). The economic benefits of software patents are thus undermined since they normally depend on technical disclosures as well as patent claims which can only be found in the public domain. If an individual was to hire a patent lawyer to conduct a clearance search, it would not be