Open Source Is The Epitome
Of Genuine Sharing

Part 2  Part 1

Open Source Promises To Be The Future

If Collaboration is indeed the future, then practicing this gift from Nature under and within the auspices of the Open Source World is Humanities greatest hope of building a sustainably equitable society.

There are many sound reasons for adopting Openness.

Once understood, these reasons arouse, stimulate, and inspire one's intellect with the splendor of sharing. You will find everything you need is at tip of your cognitive fingertips, so to speak.

The limitless possibilities and opportunities that sharing offers, awaits your attention.

Open source can best be described as Genuine Sharing.

Transparency fosters a rational Mindset that addresses, seeks, and finds, solutions to the currently increasingly intractable system of competition where one gets swept up by and lost in an intricate maze of legality.

Almost every time a new move is contemplated.

This energy sapping intricate maze, not only withers the Human Spirit, but it wastes valuable time and resources that could, and should, be put to productive use. This is the sorry world we have allowed Copyright and Patents to become.

Good Intentions Of Patents

The original purpose of a Patent, effectively a monopoly on a process, granted by the State for a fixed period of time and protected by the Law of the Land, was simply to encourage and support Discovery, Invention, and Innovation, that would encourage, and stabilize, expanding Industry, and hence contribute to prosperity, for all.
 
Working within this protected environment thus enabled a Patent Holder to confidently invest in the developing, building, and marketing of an innovative idea. Recover costs and hopefully make a profit. Without every non thinking, rapacious, Tom, Dick, and Harry, free-loading on his or her every move.

 All to be achieved before the Patent expired, and the relevant knowledge entered the Public Domain.

Attractive Idea?

In theory this is an attractive idea, but in Reality it has evolved into a Dog eat Dog world.

Dog eat dog means ruthless competition.

Dog eat dog a misnomer. In the wild, dogs are renowned for teamwork and sharing.

The original criterion for a Patent to be obtained required that an applicant's idea or concept, in a given Profession, must be of the order of ingenuity that it is not obvious to others skilled in the art of that particular profession.

This requirement too, while on the surface appears to be a sound approach, is entirely arbitrary. One's tendency is to assume that everyone skilled in a given profession is at the same level of understanding. A casual glance at our Technological History immediately refutes this assumption.

Thinking men and women avoid assuming anything where ever possible.

To remind himself of the dangers of assuming, without making appropriate investigation, and the importance of Truth, this author keeps in mind the maxim, “To assume makes an ass out of u and me”

Protection Essential

It would seem obvious that protection for Intellectual Property is essential considering our present state, and understanding, of civil, and personal, development.

Human Beings are still very much warmongers. Unbridled Emotions overriding the options of intelligence and reason. The violence waged against each other in so called civilized societies, in relation to intellectual property, is mostly psychological.

The mere threat of a lawsuit can bring business or projects to a standstill. Generating turmoil and widespread disruption. This is the intention of the perpetrators and from their viewpoint is considered a "win”.

Determined retaliation follows. The antagonists are dealt an equal blow. Struggling Humanity suffers another stab to it's heart of advancement, and staggers side ways in a brave effort to remain upright.

It would appear obvious too, that the Society Humans have constructed, is a reflection of our attitude and behavior towards each other. Yet, akin to the criteria required to obtain a Patent, the connection between behavior and consequences is not apparent to a great many Minds.

Real Protection

Our current mainstream methods of trade secrets, copyright, and patents are bona fide efforts to protect ourselves from non thinkers who prey on their own species.

But based in exclusion and denial of rights, these well intentioned Laws are easily and readily abused by the unscrupulous.

Thwarting the very process they are meant to nurture.

The imposition of exclusion on our fellow Humans has been, and always will be, the Human Race's common enemy. No matter the field it be practiced in.

 Paradoxically, Open Source knowledge accomplishes real protection by allowing unlimited access to all the knowledge under it's auspices. Whilst securing said protection, none of the benefits provided by the Law of the Land are foregone.

Open source enhances the protection of intellectual property by removing the temptation, to unethical characters, of gaining exclusive possession of any body of knowledge. For the sane, realistic, and unequivocal reason that that knowledge is available via Open source, to all who are aware of Intellectual Freedom.

This significant deterrent, to unconscionable operators, has no detrimental effect on we Good Humans, who use Open Source Intellectual Property, in accordance with the cool, permissive guidelines, provided by the license terms under which Intellectual property is made available.

And, or, Good Humans who use Patents, in Good Faith.

Real Competition

The profitability, or otherwise, of a given project or venture embarked upon via the open source world, then, is dependent on the Thinking ability, innovative Technical and Marketing skills, Plan implementation ability, and Service provided to the end user by the developer and promoter of the given undertaking. In other words real competition.

Such Intellectual Demands prove beyond any reasonable doubt that Open Source Knowledge is not something for nothing. It is a caring environment of give and take. And it is the means to Creative Progress, without the hindrance and handicap of exclusion that frustrates much of the business world activity at present.

Personal development rocks!

Part 2  Part 1

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