Computer Programmers Hold Freedom Rally for Their Software

Jonathan Yenkin
The Associated Press

August 2, 1990

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- It was billed as a march for freedom by dozens of computer wizards, but perhaps all they were saying was give PCs a chance.

The demonstrators, led by one of America's renowned computer programmers, marched through Cambridge on Thursday to protest restrictive use of copyright and patent laws to protect computer programs or software.

"I'm not an activist. I'm not one of those people," said Nick Papadakis, who helps manage the computer science laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "I'm by trade a programmer, and that's why I'm here."

About 200 people marched from the MIT campus to the headquarters of Lotus Development Corp., carrying signs bearing such slogans as "Innovation Not Litigation."

The demonstrators were led by Richard Stallman, a preeminent programmer who was awarded a $240,000 "genius" grant from the MacArthur Foundation last month.

Stallman heads a group called the League for Programming Freedom, whose mission is to limit the use of copyright and patent laws on software to specific programs.

The protesters chose Lotus as their target because the company recently won a federal lawsuit to protect the copyright on its popular 1-2-3 spreadsheet program.

Lotus argued that competitors were trying to copy the program's "look and feel" _ the actual keyboard commands and images used in the program. Lotus said if these elements were not protected, inventive people might be discouraged from developing new software for fear that someone else might steal the idea.

A federal judge in Boston sided with Lotus' arguments.

The protesters claimed Thursday that these laws aren't a form of protection, but restriction. They said lawsuits such as those brought by Lotus threaten the careers of computer programmers as well as the future of America's computer industry.

"If the auto industry worked the same way, Henry Ford would have been suing everyone who made a car with four wheels," said Kevin McBride, a programmer who came down from New Hampshire to join the demonstrators.

Many of the protesters voiced similar complaints: copyright lawsuits such as those brought by Lotus stifle innovation and force other companies to create entirely new systems that must be learned from scratch.

"If this country wants a computer-literate work force, we have to make computers easy to use," said Stan Kugell, president of Fairfield Computer Corp., a software firm in Newton. "New ideas are built on top of old ideas."

Tom Lemberg, general counsel for Lotus, suggested the protesters should also picket stores that sell books and records since they, like software, represent the expression of an idea.

"The underlying question is why do we have copyrights," Lemberg said. "We have copyrights to protect creators, to provide incentives to innovate."

But Stallman insisted the real goal of Lotus is to create "captive customers."

Stallman said his group still hopes a court will limit the extent of copyright laws, but he said the main purpose of the demonstration was to heighten public awareness and ultimately draw attention from Congress.

"This makes me think about the Minutemen," Stallman said. "Let this be the shot heard 'round the world."

Copyright 1990. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.