MPEG is developing
a new format for
genomic data, which will be patented, and probably off-limits in
the free world for 20 years.
We should campaign for rejection of that format.
The author thinks that some computational-idea patents might be
legitimate. The reasons they are all harmful is that they create a
form
of gridlock
— and that they usually exclude free software, since
the developer must pay license fee per user. (We don't know how many
users our programs have.)
Therefore, we should protect the entire software field from
the threat
of patents.
The author says he is not against "commercialisation" of software.
Interpreting the term precisely, neither am I. I am not against
profiting from software, as long as it respects users freedom (it is
free/libre
software). However, nothing can justify a program
that takes
away freedom from whoever uses it.