[clug] Re: A most interesting read, most interesting

[Martijn van Oosterhout]

On Sun, Dec 31, 2006 at 10:30:01AM +1100, Peter Anderson wrote:
> Martijn, I not sure a lawyer would agree with your interpretation. 
> Equally, I think that if you put Simply put, once you have published 
> your 'ideas' as open source you have given 'the world' unfettered access 
> to them to do with them what ever they want. Usually all you ask in 
> return is that they acknowledge your original ideas. So although you 
> might think that you have not given up ownership of your ideas, 
> effectively you have.

Oh I see. You mean I've given it away in the sense that it has become
unpatentable. To which I can only say, YAY! Now everybody is free to
use it without fear. Everybody has equal chance to commercialise it, or
even just use for their own benefit.

But I never claim to have owned the ideas. And they're not any less
valuable because of that.

> I think you and I have quite different views about logic; your "roads" 
> example is a red herring - roads could not be construed as a new or 
> novel idea or invention (a road constructed from papier mache and 
> suspended by skyhooks might be a new or novel idea; Northbourne Avenue 
> is NOT a new or novel idea (on second thoughts, it might be novel for 
> people who don't live in the ACT ;-) ). For my part, I will agree to 
> disagree and let the discussion move on.

Sure, a road is not new, but does it have any less value because the
idea is not owned? Ofcourse not. The concept of a road is so valuable that
everybody uses it, and everybody benefits from the fact that nobody
owns the idea of it.

I'm of the opinion that ideas are more valuable when nobody owns them
because then anybody can use them.

> This has got to be one of the more lively discussions of 2006!

Agreed.

Have a nice day,
-- 
Martijn van Oosterhout   <kleptog at svana.org>   http://svana.org/kleptog/
> From each according to his ability. To each according to his ability to litigate.
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