Date: Wed, 15 Aug 90 18:02:22 -0400
From: r...@ai.mit.edu (Richard Stallman)
Subject: Compress patent

Someone recently expressed the opinion that the uncertainty over the validity
of the compress patent means there is no reason to be alarmed today.

I think this conclusion is inadvisable.  The validity of any patent is
uncertain until there is a lawsuit.  That does not mean it is wise to ignore
this problem until a suit is decided.

The problem with compress is a little like that of global warming: by the time
you can be sure the problem is real, it is too late to solve it easily.  The
more the use of compress spreads, the harder it will be to stop using it, if
and when Unisys threatens to sue you.  The prudent thing to do is to stop now
when it is easier to do.

This patent is important for another reason as well: it shows us the kind of
trouble patents are likely to cause.  If you are lucky this time, and either
Unisys never sues you or they lose a suit, that doesn't mean you will be lucky
with the next patent.  Thus, the compress patent should serve as a warning
about the danger of software patents.

If you would like to challenge Unisys in court and try to defeat the patent, by
all means do so.  But this can solve only a small part of the problem of
patents.  Fighting one patent at a time is prohibitively expensive and you
can't expect to win each time.  The only way to solve the whole problem is to
make software exempt from patents.