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From: r...@AI.MIT.EDU
Newsgroups: gnu.gcc
Subject: Supposed intellectual property rights.
Message-ID: <8906100346.AA02699@sugar-bombs.ai.mit.edu>
Date: 10 Jun 89 03:46:48 GMT
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I disagree. Apple does not want to "take away people's freedom to write
software" in the general sense. They DO wish to prohibit people from
writing software that infringes on their intellectual property rights.
This is a distinction without a difference. Extending the definition
of property rights *is* taking away someone else's freedom.
The American Indians considered land to be common property. They did
not try to bar the English from using the land. But the English, once
established, started claiming to own land which the Indians had always
used. When they acted to prevent infringement of their property
rights, they were taking away the traditional freedom of the Indians.
Not much later, the gentry in England started building fences around
the land that small farmers had traditionally used, but had no deeds
for. (They had never needed any.) The small farmers, kicked out to
make way for more profitable kinds of farming, were left without
means. This was called "simple enforcement of property rights". Now
historians call it "enclosure".
The text quoted above is misleading in another way as well: it speaks
of "intellectual property rights" as if their existence and
extent were generally accepted and uncontroversial.
In fact, this is precisely what the controversy is about. What property
rights does Apple have? What property rights should Apple have?
Apple is claiming a kind of property which three years ago was considered
outrageous but far-fetched by nearly everyone in the field. Most still
consider it outrageous, but they are learning that they can't afford
to consider it far-fetched.
The question of whether Apple does have a new kind of property will be
decided first by judges, then by Congress and by public opinion. We
are working to influence all of these.
However, debating this result is like debating who will win an
election. The important issue is who *should* win. That is what
people need to make up their minds about.
The Constitution itself might suggest a criterion: it says that the
purpose of copyright is, "To promote the progress of science and
useful arts." In other words, if user-interface copyright actually
impedes progress as many people in the field believe, it is
unconstitutional.
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From: r...@AI.MIT.EDU
Newsgroups: gnu.gcc
Subject: Supposed intellectual property rights.
Message-ID: <8906151629.AA00227@sugar-bombs.ai.mit.edu>
Date: 15 Jun 89 16:29:35 GMT
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Posted: Thu Jun 15 17:29:35 1989
The issue we have been discussing is that of user-interface copyright,
the so-called "look and feel". This issue involves an attempt by
Apple and others to create a new kind of "intellectual property"
never before recognized.
All the arguments and positions I have posted on info-gcc recently are
about this topic. None are about the issue of whether software should
be free. But several people have misunderstood them as applying to the
latter topic. Often this understanding makes my statements seem
untrue and my opinions ridiculous.
Although several people have begun to discuss the other topic (should
software be free), I am not going to respond, because that would
encourage even more misinterpretation. As long as I stick to one and
only one topic, there is a simple rule for which one I am discussing.
If I start discussing more than one, there will be no such rule.
Right now, I am trying to persuade people of the wrongness and danger
of Apple's actions. I expect that many people will agree with me on
this, who would not agree with my attitude toward proprietary
software. I hope to build a coalition with these people to fight
user-interface copyright, which means leaving our disagreements on
other issues to be discussed later.
For those who are interested in my responses to the arguments which
have been posted in favor of proprietary software, I refer you to
the GNU Manifesto.