Return to BSD News archive
Received: by minnie.vk1xwt.ampr.org with NNTP id AA6894 ; Fri, 15 Jan 93 10:38:32 EST Xref: sserve comp.org.eff.talk:11587 comp.unix.bsd:10025 comp.unix.wizards:28224 comp.org.usenix:3090 Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk,comp.unix.bsd,comp.unix.wizards,comp.org.usenix Path: sserve!manuel.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!ncar!csn!teal.csn.org!dfishman From: dfishman@teal.csn.org (Dan Fishman) Subject: Re: BSDI/USL Lawsuit -- More Bad News for Human Beings... Message-ID: <C0yK27.9Ly@csn.org> Sender: news@csn.org (news) Nntp-Posting-Host: teal.csn.org Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc. X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4 References: <1993Jan16.165710.7389@eecs.nwu.edu> Date: Sat, 16 Jan 1993 17:46:49 GMT Lines: 41 A comment from the silent majority... There seems to be an assumption that the UNIX community (users, programmers and gurus are included I presume) speaks with one mind with respect to legal and intellectual property issue; that of the vocal minority in this and other news groups. They do not! Though I haven't the data to prove it, the UNIX community is much broader than the gurus who attend USENIX and balk at any and every legal action relating to UNIX or even the software industry in general. There are many of us who give due respect to those in the industry who choose to advance the art by offering their services free of charge (or at least profit). Thank you Jolitz's, Stallman, Amancio et al... GNU amd 386BSD are doing a great job at moving the software field ahead. Berkeley and other academic institutions are doing their part as well supported by tax dollars and tuition. But I also pay due respect to USL, Novell, IBM, Microsoft, HP, DEC, and yes even the Apples of the industry for advancing the art of software based on profit motives and the associated use of intellectual property protection. Let's give credit where credit is due! This does not mean I support everything such massive companies may do in in the name of IP law enforcement, but I do not share the paranoia expressed by many readers of this and other groups that the sky will fall if USL moves this way or that. Some of you are kidding yourselves to think that the legal system always crushes the little guy. These huge corps are scared shitless of the little guy with a good legal claim against them. Certainly there are problems with our legal system not only in terms relating to the software biz, but everywhere. Work to correct those problems, don't toss the baby with the bathwater. There may in fact be some of you out there that may be directly affected by a USL victory (if it ever happens), but the industry as a whole will march ahead without noticing the outcome. My (long-windded) point is simply that too many of you are assuming that the UNIX community (or software community more generally) supports your every claim that our business is unique and must be saved from the wolves at the door (IBM, USL...). WE DO NOT! There are those of us who see no problems in commercial expolitation of protected expressions and ideas, in fact, some of us even make a living doing so... it called programming too! Dan Fishman (dfishman@csn.org)