> Many libertarian opponents do not deny that limited patents
> occasionally promote innovation; instead, they are asking
> whether or not court-enforceable grants of monopoly are an
> acceptable /means/ by which to promote innovation.
Just to be clear, while I may indeed have moral objections to
patents as well, I do contend that the patent system as a whole
stifles innovation and progress in general. I concede the very
small point that patents encourage some kinds of innovation
(specifically long-term speculative research) at the expense
of others (gradual evolutionary refinement), but I think the
total amount of innovation and progress would be greater with
greater total information sharing.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
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