Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 31st Oct 2006 21:10 UTC
"The simple question 'what's wrong with software patents?' stirs up controversy and divides the IT industry into two camps like no other. Every group has their own ideology about software patents. Those who don't like them claim that they are anti-competitive, that they are tools used by industry giants to crush free and open software, that they are bad for innovation, that they are monopolies. Those who like them claim that they are simply units of intellectual property, to be traded like any other commodity."
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Member since:
2006-09-26
There is probably a bit of a misunderstanding here, for I know of no such law, though I'm not about to claim to be a lawyer. But I am a draftsman.
I doubt you'll ever come close to getting blueprints for 99% of what you own, regardless of whether it's for legitimate purposes or not. Lists of replacement parts, sure. Schematics? They're out there for most electronics, albeit expensive. Specifications? yea. but...
Manufacturer's aren't going to give you the blueprints though, even to trivial things: I assure you, you'll not be able to get the assembly drawings ('blueprints') of say a transformer enclosure from GE, even as it's just a box with fins you could figure out with a measuring tape in 10 minutes.