The history of software patents is much longer than most people think; Software Patents are currently 47 years old. The first software patent was awarded in Britain in 1962. The first American software patents were granted in the early 1970s. While Software patents have a long history, they have become much more important in the past with the rise of commodity computing and the easing of barriers to obtaining Software Patents. Open Source and Free Software proponents in particular have specifically written their licenses to undo some of the damage that they believe software patents have done to innovation and competition. Some of the arguments against Software Patents are that the process is too slow, that Copyright provides adequate protection, and that Patents increase costs unreasonably due to unnecessary or unreasonable litigation. A case currently before the Supreme Court is considering if Patents have become too liberal and the court will issue its ruling soon. With all the arguments and awareness currently being put fourth in the software community, this presentation will ask, "What's the big deal?" Reform is definitely necessary, but do the Software Patents need to be thrown out with the bath water?

George Finney is an attorney and currently holds the positions of Information Security Officer (ISO) and Director of Digital Interests for Southern Methodist University. Mr. Finney works in a variety of areas at SMU including facilitating IT Security and Compliance, increasing Regulatory Awareness, streamlining the IT Contracts process, as well as advocacy for Open Source software and processes.

In May of 2008, Mr. Finney completed his Juris Doctorate at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, is licensed to practice law in Texas and focuses on Technology Law issues. Mr. Finney earned a bachelor of arts degree in liberal arts in 1999 from St. John's College in Santa Fe. His paper, "The Evolution of the GPLv3 and Contributor Agreements in Open Source Software" was published in June of 2009 in the University of Florida's Journal of Technology Law and Policy.

Prior to joining SMU, Mr. Finney worked in the telecommunications industry for several years on Voice Over IP projects, Data Security Consulting, and in Network Operations.