I’m not opposed to idea of the patent system on general principle (as Stallman, and many others, are).
I'm not aware of RMS claiming that the patent system should be abolished for all fields. I'd love to be corrected on this point, but it's my understanding that Stallman is against software patents only. You can actually read Stallman's own words on the subject in "Free Software, Free Society", Chapter 16. And yes, you can legally download the entire book for free.
I’m not opposed to idea of the patent system on general principle (as Stallman, and many others, are)
I think the context of that quote refers to software patents. In particular, his two preceding Tim Bray quotes are clearly with regards to software patents.
He's referring to the patent system in general. The context is pretty clear:
I’m not opposed to idea of the patent system on general principle (as Stallman, and many others, are). And I think in many fields, the system has and continues to work well.
But for software the system, in practice, is undeniably broken.
At the beginning of the second paragraph he makes a distinction between the system in general and the system as it applies to software. Therefore, in the first paragraph he was referring to the system in general. Maybe that's not what the author meant, but that's what the words say.
Comments
I’m not opposed to idea of the patent system on general principle (as Stallman, and many others, are).
I'm not aware of RMS claiming that the patent system should be abolished for all fields. I'd love to be corrected on this point, but it's my understanding that Stallman is against software patents only. You can actually read Stallman's own words on the subject in "Free Software, Free Society", Chapter 16. And yes, you can legally download the entire book for free.
http://shop.fsf.org/product/free-software-free-society/
I’m not opposed to idea of the patent system on general principle (as Stallman, and many others, are)
I think the context of that quote refers to software patents. In particular, his two preceding Tim Bray quotes are clearly with regards to software patents.
He's referring to the patent system in general. The context is pretty clear:
I’m not opposed to idea of the patent system on general principle (as Stallman, and many others, are). And I think in many fields, the system has and continues to work well.
But for software the system, in practice, is undeniably broken.
At the beginning of the second paragraph he makes a distinction between the system in general and the system as it applies to software. Therefore, in the first paragraph he was referring to the system in general. Maybe that's not what the author meant, but that's what the words say.