Can a Hacker Outfox Microsoft?. Cypherpunk Lucky Green files a defensive patent to prevent the software giant from using Palladium to block piracy efforts. Analysts say it just might work. By Pete Rojas. [Wired News]

Har!  Turnabout's fair play, I guess.  If the industry can abuse the broken US patent system for profit, why can't individuals abuse it to defend their rights?  This guy whipped off a couple of patents covering the use of Palladium to prevent software piracy.  Theoretically, he could refuse to license it to anybody, then sue anyone who tries to use Palladium to prevent piracy.

I really can't support this sort of behavior.  I'll be pleased if it draws attention to our broken patent system, but I don't think of it as a valid way to fight back.

12:11:12 PM   

Some truth about copyright [The Register]

Damn, Thomas Greene is on fire again.  "Copyright is being abused by well-heeled special interest groups with the cooperation of a corrupt Congress; there's no question about that," and "making it a crime to circumvent an access control for legal purposes is unconscionable," and concludes that, "clearly, the illegality of circumventing an access control has got to be made rational according to the intention of the person doing it."  Amen, brother.

Unfortunately, that's just a prelude to an attack on Eric Eldred.  After all, Greene is an author, with a stake in the publishing market as it currently exists.  The article degenerates into an exposition on the role of copyright in today's global book publishing market.  Ho hum.  I'm not interested in today's market; I'm interested in tomorrows.

11:45:07 AM