Richard Stallman: Let's limit the Effect of Software Patents

Richard Stallman on software patents! He wrote this wired opinion awhile ago but I just discovered it.

He makes a good point that even if you change the criteria for granting patents, patent lawyers are good at reformulating them to whatever rules might apply. I guess that's the challenge of dealing with smart opponents!

So he proposes to limit effect, not patentability. He says "We should legislate that developing, distributing, or running a program on generally used computing hardware does not constitute patent infringement."
 

Interesting take.