[CrackMonkey] Irish Opposition to Patents

[Nick Moffitt]

One important study released late last year concludes that software
patents in the US actually harmed investment in software research and
development. Technologist James Besson and Harvard economist Eric
Maskin show that R&D in software actually fell after patents became
common. Their study offers a powerful model to show why in this type
of industry - where innovation is sequential and complementary -
patent protection will slow innovation, not speed it.  Other
historical studies about innovation in similar fields have also
demonstrated that in industries like software, innovation was greatest
when monopoly protections were least. There is one area of software
development, however, where the consequence will be very clear.  This
is the effect of patents on the open source, or free, software
movements.

	http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2000/0714/fin18.htm

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