Recently, during FISL (Fórum Internacional de Software Livre) in Brazil, Eric S. Raymond gave an interview to Federico Biancuzzi of OnLAMP. In it, he was asked (to make the long and convoluted question short) if the donation of software patents to FOSS from the big patent holders should be rejected, as accepting it implies support for the patents. He replied:
I don’t agree with that interpretation. Think back to the days of the Cold War. If the Soviets let some dissidents out of jail, would you have told them “No, put those people back in jail” because you thought accepting that action meant supporting the Gulag?
I believe you are wrong here, Mr. Raymond. I appreciate much your enormous contributions to FOSS, but you are still a human – and to err is human.