In the coming days, venture capitalist and anti-software patent blogger Brad Feld will post copies of the Bilski film Patent Absurdity to 200 people. End Software Patents is looking for help in building that list of 200 people. We’re looking for the key people in US patent politics, the software patent critics inside the big companies, the professors who support patents but might see why software doesn’t fit that system, and anyone else that might consider giving our position some support when the post-Bilski debate erupts. Add names in comments here, or to this wiki page: Who should see Patent Absurdity.
Categories: Campaign
4 Comments
Dohn Joe · 20 May 2010 at 10:04 pm
None. Why does the free software community suck so bad at making documentaries? Why must they be so BORING. Hire Michael Moore…get some sensationalism in there…get Joe six-pack to feel threatened and care!
Ciaran · 20 May 2010 at 11:26 pm
Hi,
This is actually off-topic. We have a documentary, and the reviews are pretty much all positive, and now we’re doing something with that documentary. Help sought. Here’s a list of reviews – if you know of more (positive or negative), please add them:
http://en.swpat.org/wiki/Patent_Absurdity#Reviews
Jose_X · 28 May 2010 at 6:33 am
I too thought that someone like Michael Moore could potentially really help spread this message. We need to answer, “why should the average person care.” You want people that have proven to adopt similar causes and spread their messages far and wide. That would be good bang for buck. We need numbers on our side or else we are simply and underfunded special interest group (if with a decent message).
Software patents mean higher costs (especially in light of the FOSS factor) and lower gains in quality software. This affects everyone. Additionally, as advances make programming easier and easier, more people will be kept from pursuing their dreams and improving their businesses except after paying high tolls/insurance. Who wants to receive monopoly quality at monopoly prices when you could have otherwise?
BTW, I heard about this effort through groklaw.. so it does help to have friends who have large audiences. If nothing else, having more film producers involved is likely to lead to many more people of influence that you don’t know exist gaining some insight into the problems.
Ciaran · 28 May 2010 at 3:34 pm
Absolutely agree! The current situation is that there is very clearly not enough money to pay what someone of his credentials would ask for. So we have to first focus on how to get to the point where making a Michael Moore-budget film is possible.
We have to make use of what we have. Luckily, on a tight budget, we got a film that’s very good. That’s what we have, and we have to make maximum use of it in order to get to the next step in the direction of becoming a campaign that can make Michael Moore-budget films.
What I’m saying is, I share the dream, and to make it happen our current work must focus on making maximum use of Patent Absurdity, the en.swpat.org wiki, our Bilksi work, our campaigning in Australia/New Zealand/Israel/EU, etc. Increasing donations would also help. http://endsoftpatents.org/donate
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