Software as art (Score 1)

Hey, Its about time WE technologists just LISTEN to the artists. They DO have a CLUE. And like everyone, we could learn a thing or two. I personally believe the process of designing software is art. I have a lot of problems with people who ask me to sign an intellectual property agreement that says that the software I create is NOT my property, but thiers, because they sponsored/facilitated the creation. Most of the software I have ever produced is cloned and/or mangled regurgitations of algorithms/methods I learned by reading Open Source (literature & source code). Although it may not have been labelled as such, it was still shared with the intent of letting me produce better code. Maybe not better versions of the same code, or for the same purpose, but if I had to re-invent a binary search algorithm each time I needed one, and my employer saw fit to prosecute anyone else using it, we'd all be working for the same software company.... By defining the process of development as art, we could make large strides in reducing the legal morass of algorithm patents. The artistic concept of quoting could surely resolve many of the 'sue you for using "you've got mail"' problems we have seen. Who else laughed when Apple decided no one else could use a trash can icon? Jeez guys, It WAS right, and YOU did introduce it, BUT YOU CAN"T OWN someones elses ART, only the product. It is crucial that the process AND the artist are free to improve. By admitting this up front, and forcing everyone in the software development food chain to agree up front, The OPEN SOURCE guys have a HUGE head start on producing not only the BEST PRODUCTS, but the BEST TEAMS of software development ARTISTS. The first major software company to realize that its the PEOPLE and NOT THE CODE that produce the value will be the folks who end up ahead.