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There is almost no bar now. The USPTO is derelict, and an ignorant ruling allowed what was supposed to be illegal: software patents.

Even worse is that Red simply ripped off JPEG2000 and got a patent on it.

The patent "system" has become a tool for exactly what it was supposed to prevent: the theft of people's work.

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The only saving grace is the relatively short expiration of twenty years. if it was seventy years after the author's death progress would grind to a halt.

IP expiration dates are a "brain plasticity" parameter in society. Higher values mean lower rates of change, too low values mean too high rates of change. Twenty years is a sweet spot.

20 years is eternity in software. It may as well be forever.

Thomas Edison Was a “Patent Troll” (2014) https://slate.com/technology/2014/05/thomas-edison-charles-g...

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