Notch donates $250k to patent reform project

 @SavageEvil Thanks for explaining this! :D I've been on the EFF's mailing list for awhile and never really understood the whole Software Patent issue.

 @dkdk999 Without *any* form of patenting, games would not be an industry. Game development could only really exist as a hobby. I'm not saying I like the way patent laws work, but if we're to be a capitalist society, some form of patent law is definitely necessary.

 @blutosan There's actually a big one going on right now with Sega suing Level-5 over how they use the DS touch screen in some of their games, saying that it infringes even though the first of that series came out before the patent was created.

 @TJSpyke Technology allows for new abilities in games, new expressions and interactions, that were unable to do in previous consoles/PC. 

THUS, its not like someone out of the blue has an epiphany that could have been done before but was not.  It is more so that previous tech, cover systems, slow motion, fighting and shooting, car jacking .... were not possible.  

Thus, once a feature is possible then its the first one to utilize such a feature that gets the patent even though many other developers could be working on the same system just not turn it in first. 

And not its big business. people thinking ahead to what will be the next big idea, and system in games, come up with a huge number of ideas and summit for patent.  Other developers will come up with the same idea and have to pay for this idea even though they did not copy it.  

 @TJSpyke Are you saying you don't have a problem with the current patent system, therefore you see no reason to change it? Then until you encounter a problem, your opinion is unlikely to be changed by any argument. That opinion is also irrelevant to public discussion except as one vote in a democratic referendum.

If you feel the EFF's proposed fixes are not beneficial to either IP protection in general or any of EFF's stated goals, then you are right to speak up. It would help if you described exactly what problems you have with either the EFF's goals or the EFF's fixes.

 @TJSpyke

LOL!!! As if MC hasn't been ripped by hundreds of other companies XD

I don't think you fully get the point.

 @TJSpyke Look up the term Patent troll, then you will get a good idea what this is about. 

 @TJSpyke Sigh... really? I don't understand if you've just got a hate-on for Notch or simply don't understand the article or perhaps its both.

But I shall attempt to clarify.

No ones saying your should be allowed to steal others work (Copyright protection still completely in place) and infact all they are trying to do is CHANGE the patent system so it would be harder to get patents if your not really inventing anything and simply doing something obvious with an existing technology (Like trying to get a patent for software for movements on a touchscreen technology which is in reality a simple obvious step forward that many people would come to independently while working with the touchscreen hardware), allow people who get falsely charged with patent infringement to be reimbursed by the loser of that case (so big company's can't use it to squash competition with legal fees through frivolous lawsuits) and to shorten the length of software patents so people cannot simply horde them to deny competition.

 @TJSpyke No. You cannot get a patent for an idea. And how do you "create" an idea? Talk about pot calling the kettle black, with that "idiot" insult.

 @CyhortI82 I'll try not to make this a discussion of how much windows is a stolen idea and how even simple things like color graphics is a patent infringement.

Instead I'd like to talk about how (at least this is what I've read on the web) copyrights used to for a limited amount of time. I think it was 4 years. Anyway it's not important. The point is it should be a short limited time cause it makes sense. The idea was to give the creator some time to make money on his idea and then go on to create new stuff. To promote innovation and creation.

With copyrights lasting for more than a lifetime and children living off of money from their grandparents copyrighted songs etc. Things went out of hand. There's no point in creating new things. It also prevents others from benefiting from your discoveries.

I realize you're not talking about copyright but more of patents but to me they're pretty much the same thing.

There are also other problems with patents and copyrights today. Big rich companies can infringe all they want and then spend a fraction of the money earned on lawyers instead.

Look up the case of "Håkan Lans" and you'll see what I mean.

Big companies like Disney make animated toons out of old stories made before copyright became law but still sue if you infringe on their movies. Suddenly it's THEIR stories huh. Apple is doing the same thing of course (claiming they invented everything). And microsoft has always been doing that. Windows really wasn't their idea, you know.

Just be lucky things we take for granted in any OS, such as scroll bars and movable windows, isn't patented. Competition is needed.

 @CyhortI82 "Getting rid of patents wouldn't bring in some great, collective utopia of sharing ideas and making things better for all mankind or whatever..."

Linux is just begining and people do work for much of nothing for the betterment of mankind.  Just because not EVERYONE will not continue working on advancement does not mean that those that do will not bring about the same results!  LOOK at MODS of many games they do not get paid and yet there are HUGE NUMBERS of mods out there of many games.  IN FACT it makes computer games BETTER on PC than on CONSOLES!!!!!!!!!!!! 

"it'll make people stop inventing new software because they're not gonna get paid"  

... yet again people do not stop in many ways with the Open form!!!! People continue DESPITE the road blocks that are in front of them. People continue to make improvements in many ways to many programs out there and if its good enough then they may get hired or their idea MAY get implemented, though many times any idea that takes away from companies making money great or not get shutdown!!!!!!!!!!

"Get rid of patents and there's no competition so why the hell would anyone bother trying to innovate?"

Because its human desire to make things better, to move forward. IF not we would still be living in the middle ages. In the global world that we live in there are PLENTY of people who are out there in the invention business, on all fronts. TAKE away patents and many will stop but many will take their place FREE from STIFFING, INTERFERING, and LAW suites, more people will be unshackled to push the boundaries of new technology built on-top of older tech.  

 @CyhortI82 I think your mistaking Copyright Protection and Patents. If you made a knock off of windows and the code was the same you'd get sued for Copyright infringement + other charges, but a Patent is for an Invention which brings up if it was an inventive step and non-obviousness into whether or not its eligible to be Patented and different countrys handle this differently with the US being sorta notoriously the easiest to get a software patent and most would agree change there is needed.

 @CyhortI82 Where do they say then want patents to be gone? And you seem to be forgetting that this is only regarding software patents. Not any other form of patent. 

 @DrKill09 7/10.

 @DrKill09 Why don't you make a better game. Seems you learned it in school and all.

It's cute how you think he tried to make the graphics realistic and failed though.

 @DrKill09 Education is free in Sweden...

 @zaboon_ No it is not dangerous. It stops uncreative people from just stealing the ideas of other people because they are too lazy and stupid to come up with their own ideas.