[plug] Intellectual Property

[Leon Brooks]

Mike from West Australia wrote:
> The same goes for architects, you own the plan and (when you pay for
> it) the house built from that plan - but you don't automatically own
> the right to copy that plan or make profit from its duplication or
> build another house from that plan without gaining the right to from
> the architect.

With the "architect" representing the programmer, and "homeowner" his
employer?

> When a bricklayer puts up your home, you own the bricks and the
> result of his work - you don't automatically own the right to use
> his intellectual property in any houses - ie. If the bricklayer has
> a particular method of construction that is his intellectual
> property then you don't have the right to profit from that. You'd
> be hard pressed though to find any IP of value in bricklayers or
> plumbers or boilermakers that is novel as most construction
> techniques are now in the public domain for over 100 years...

In the case of mud bricks, cob, and wattle-and-daub, considerably
longer. (-:

> Most 'clever' programming techniques many would want to claim as their IP
> have been done before with many many variations on a theme and most of the
> bases if not all are taught at uni etc.

And recently, explicitly copyrighted by someone, Amazon, Microsoft or
whoever... )-:

-- 
Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?