this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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[–] fubo@lemmy.world 84 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Two pieces of technology are behind the Internet as we know it today.

Neither one is patented.

They are TCP/IP and Linux.

All the network traffic runs over TCP/IP.

95%+ of the servers run Linux. So do the Android phones and Chromebooks.

Clearly, patent protection in software is not required for society to benefit greatly from technological innovation in software.

[–] PixxlMan@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Linux isn't a patentable thing. It's not one idea or even really a new one. I agree with your premise though. Patents, in nearly all cases, suck.

[–] fubo@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Linux isn’t a patentable thing.

Yes, that's been true so far. Are you sure it's true under the newly proposed law?

[–] PixxlMan@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

What would you patent? "A program which handles low level functionality and manages other programs?" I suppose what I mean is that there is "prior art". You can't patent something if it isn't new and the concept of Linux isn't. Linux isn't the first kernel. This law wouldn't change that. The first person to create a kernel though, under this law that might perhaps (?) have been patentable. Which would've crippled the entire software industry in it's infancy. Yay patents!

[–] luchs@feddit.de 7 points 1 year ago

Patents have been an issue for Linux before. For example, memory deduplication (KSM) was delayed and modified to avoid a patent on using hashes for this purpose, resulting in a potentially inferior implementation due to patents.

[–] PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (5 children)
[–] fubo@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"TCP/IP" is conventionally used to indicate the whole protocol suite; including UDP, ICMP and sometimes even ARP.

[–] winky88@startrek.website 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Technically the parent protocol is IP.

In all my years I have never heard someone suggest that TCP is a catch all term.

[–] Parodper@foros.fediverso.gal 5 points 1 year ago

I've seen many references to TCP/IP as meaning IP + everything-on-top, usually when talking about other networking technologies like UUnet, OSI, etc. Also as the TCP/IP stack, usually meaning the (Free)BSD networking code used in other systems.

[–] fubo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

It's not that TCP is a catch-all term, but "TCP/IP" is often used that way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_protocol_suite

The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suite are the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and the Internet Protocol (IP).

For that matter, the classic networking text by Douglas Comer is Internetworking with TCP/IP and it does cover UDP, ICMP, ARP, DHCP, DNS, etc.

[–] SpikesOtherDog@ani.social 4 points 1 year ago

It does it you want to be sure it is delivered!

[–] grayman@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Psh. UDP isn't used at any scale anymore. /s

[–] lud@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

I use it all the time

[–] lud@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

I use it all the time

[–] lud@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

I use it all the time

[–] lud@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

I use it all the time