FREE LUNCH

FREE LUNCH

[@ 1986-12-21 2:24 UTC (permalink / raw)]

There is plenty of precedent for the use of public domain and government 
funded technology as a springboard for private enterprise.  In general, the 
results have been beneficial for all.  A striking example has been the 
evolution of the integrated circuit.  Government funding for space and 
military programs has produced technological leaps, but the resulting 
technology is available to give you a better radio in a smaller package.

Similarly, private, corporate, and government efforts produce software which 
is placed in the public domain.  There's nothing wrong with somebody using 
that software as a technological springboard for developing a saleable 
product.  Of course, if the value added does not equal the price, then as Rick 
Conn says, "Caveat emptor."

As to the "free lunch" analogy:  Sometime, somewhere, somebody invented the 
hamburger.  That invention is, eventually, placed in the public domain.  Now, 
I go out for lunch, and get a hamburger.  Keep in mind, I don't want the 
rights to the hamburger, I just want a copy.  I could, if I wanted to, go home 
and make my own hamburger, but I prefer the convenience of having a restaurant 
do it for me, for which they will charge medium costs, labor, and some 
reasonable profit.  Further more, they may have some unique (value added) 
addition to the hamburger, in which case I might pay a premium price, but it's 
my choice to do so.

Malcolm