Ask HN: Would a "union" of programmers work to end patent trolls?
Without getting into labor theory too much; it suffices to say that unions are typically organized around marginalized workers. /usually/ (hollywood writers, pro atheletes excluded).
Programmers are not marginalized except in the most link-baity of articles.
I would have no problem, as a programmer, of swearing allegiance to some list of facts that could easily be improved upon but might look something like this:
* Math should not be patentable * If you have a math patent and use it defensively, that is okay. * If you have a math patent and you use it aggressively, that is decidedly NOT okay. * Features and ideas should not be patentable. * It is okay for specific implementations of features to be protected by law, maybe by patent, maybe by copyright.
If you or your company conflicts with /any/ of the above statements, you are declared evil. If you are evil I will NOT work for you and will work within the law; primarily by whining on the internet, to assure that you lose your capital, your programmers, and thus your ability to do harm to the world.
Signed, eof and 100k other hackers.
Something like this?
I like the concept. That we both feel the need to put quotes around "union" suggests the term might be too loaded to use for programmers, but fixing that's as simple as hanging a label on it like "Independent Programmers For Innovation".
Of course, you give it a title like that, you almost have to turn it into a PAC at some point...
ACM's Software Engineering Code of Ethics[1] is great place to start.
Suggestion.
Create a github account/repo on this. Write the initial draft. Discussions goes into issues. Changes in pull request. Signing by staring the repo.
Unlike a factory, patent trolls don't need you to work for them. If it's just a lawyer in an office, what's your bargaining power?
The problem is the patent model itself.