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Source Code & Copyright

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the whither-the-courts dept.

cunamara writes "Patently-O has posted a discussion of Aharonian v. Gonzales . Aharonian is trying to build a database of source code as a repository of prior art. The interesting thing is in part of the decision, which is that "Conversely, if plaintiff independently creates software that is functionally identical to other software, he does not infringe any copyright on the other software's source code, even if his independently created source code is nearly identical to the copyrighted source code." Interesting. But how does one defend "nearly identical" independently created source code from a copyright infringement lawsuit?" I'm actually not as interested in the copyright side of things as I am in the notion of using something like that for prior art of software patents. The argument that source code is uncopyrightable, with some extensions could be applied to almost all, say, fiction stories since no one's written a truly new story in like five thousand years.

1 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. Shit post. by einexile · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    And this is a headline story on a well-read news page.

    "The argument that source code is uncopyrightable, with some extensions could be applied to almost all, say, fiction stories since no one's written a truly new story in like five thousand years."

    Flamebait. This is tantamount to saying nothing unexpected has happened to anyone in 5000 years. Ever notice how people who make this claim never offer a serious argument? Much less some examples. It's just tossed out there. Those of us who find the statment infantile are all too familiar with the pattern. "What about N?" we ask, to which the flamebaiter replies," Well, that's really just a hybrid of X, Y, and Z, with a little bit of Q thrown in."

    There are really only three ways of responding to this stupid, nihilistic view of creativity and culture. You can give into it and accept the premise simply because you lack the time and energy to attack a black-hole argument based upon bitterness, or you can do the healthy thing and ignore it... or you can get sick of just ignoring it and flip the bird.

    On behalf of those who are tired of just rolling our eyes and letting you get away with it, go fuck yourself.