A while ago I started
thinking
about how to put a legal spin on open source and patents......what would the legal aspect be around the licensing concept of an "open source patent"? It would be like open source software but for patents, with the idea being that people can use and build off of the invention endlessly, so long as other people can build on any of their improvements license free. I was just listening to a podcast from a Web 2.0 conference and they were mentioning that concept and it sounded interesting. So now I have to figure whether there is a legal market in it. If so it seems like an awesome field to get into. it is also fitting for the web 2.0 concept - people are understanding the power and brains of the "users". the next ideal tech biz model should focus on working from the ground up. As opposed to the traditional model of working content top down. Users today love to create. This blog thing is addicting -- reading them I mean. I have stumbled across so much creativity. I think it is sweet how I have been able to follow and pursue all my interests - as everything is out there on the web.
just listening to some sweet old school 2pac - man rap was just so good back in the early 90s!
UPDATE here is a great article from the Economist: link
here is a link to a jan 15/05 lessig article
found this open source patent group also
here is critique of the lack of development in this area.
