ual
property lawyers of course.</p><p>The harm done to free software by software patents is more
insidious than just direct threats to code development, however.
Software patents encourage an atmosphere of secrecy among firmware
designers, who justifiably worry that by publishing details of their
interfaces they will be giving technical help to competitors seeking
to slap them with patent infringement suits.  This is not just a
theoretical danger; it has apparently been happening for a long time
in the vide