Z:gnu-www-ja-stallman-mec-india--88b68d-The best way for a nonprogramm/en

The best way for a nonprogrammer to understand what this is like is to compare the writing of these large programs with another area in which people write something very large: symphonies. Imagine if the governments of Europe in the 1700's had wanted to promote progress in symphonic music by adopting a system of music patents, so that any idea that could be described in words could be patented if it seemed to be new and original. So you'd be able to patent, say, a three-note melodic motif which is be too short to be copyrightable, but it would have been patentable. And maybe they could have patented a certain chord progression, and maybe patented using a certain combination of instruments playing at the same time, or any other idea that somebody could describe.