--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every piece of software written today is…" description: "\"Every piece of software written today is likely going to infringe on someone else's patent.\" — Miguel de Icaza" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/miguel-de-icaza-21968_computer_every-piece-of-software-written-today-is_1080017.png" --- # Every piece of software written today is likely going to… ![“Every piece of software written today is likely going to infringe on someone else's patent.” quote by Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/miguel-de-icaza-21968_computer_every-piece-of-software-written-today-is_1080017.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/miguel-de-icaza-21968_computer_every-piece-of-software-written-today-is_1080017.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/miguel-de-icaza-21968_computer_every-piece-of-software-written-today-is_1080017.png) > “Every piece of software written today is likely going to infringe on someone else's patent.” [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern software development is fraught with patent risks, making infringement likely. **In simple terms:** Software often violates existing patents. Key Takeaway Treat patent risk as a core part of development planning. Themes technology law innovation risk management Mood cautious pragmatic Type advisory strategic When to use this quote - product development - startup planning - R&D budgeting - open source contributions Key Concepts intellectual property software engineering legal strategy Questions to Reflect On - How can teams mitigate patent infringement risk? - What role should open source play in navigating patents? A Different Perspective Patent landscapes differ by region; some innovations may be truly novel. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Patents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patents/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we did not have a patent system, it would be irresponsible, on the basis of our present knowledge of its economic consequences, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-machlup/if-we-did-not-have-a-patent-system-it-would-be-irresponsible-on-the/) [Fritz Machlup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-machlup/) > [I would have had my patent long, long ago, and it would have run out long, long ago. I would have made, maybe, $100.000,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-gould/i-would-have-had-my-patent-long-long-ago-and-it-would-have-run-out/) [Gordon Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-gould/) > [I've never filed a patent lawsuit. I hope never to file a patent lawsuit. That may be unrealistic, but it would be great if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/i-ve-never-filed-a-patent-lawsuit-i-hope-never-to-file-a-patent/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [The reforms proposed by the Patent Reform Act of 2007 are precisely the type of congressional action needed. The Act will remove obstacles to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-d-dinh/the-reforms-proposed-by-the-patent-reform-act-of-2007-are-precisely/) [Viet D. Dinh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-d-dinh/) > [The US patent system adds the fuel of interest to the fire of genius in the discovery and production of new and useful things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-us-patent-system-adds-the-fuel-of-interest-to-the-fire-of-genius/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [When God created man and woman, he did not take a patent. That's why any imbecile has been able to do so ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/when-god-created-man-and-woman-he-did-not-take-a-patent-that-s-why/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [We have no patent on anything we do and anything we do can be copied by anyone else. But you can't copy the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/we-have-no-patent-on-anything-we-do-and-anything-we-do-can-be-copied/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) > [Now Stan and I were still working in secret at that time but, because of this development, we had to inform the University of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-fleischmann/now-stan-and-i-were-still-working-in-secret-at-that-time-but-because/) [Martin Fleischmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-fleischmann/) > [The under-funded and over-extended United States Patent and Trademark Office does not have the resources to adequately evaluate the burgeoning number of applications, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-d-dinh/the-under-funded-and-over-extended-united-states-patent-and-trademark/) [Viet D. Dinh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-d-dinh/) > [Don't fight the patent, fight the infringement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-curtis/don-t-fight-the-patent-fight-the-infringement/) [Drew Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-curtis/) > [“Working a Patent is not as easy as it sounds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalyan-c-kankanala/working-a-patent-is-not-as-easy-as-it-sounds/) [Kalyan C. Kankanala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalyan-c-kankanala/) > [Except in very narrow cases, where there's breakthrough science that needs patent production, worrying about competitors is a waste of time. If you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/except-in-very-narrow-cases-where-there-s-breakthrough-science-that/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [The idea that I can be presented with a problem, set out to logically solve it with the tools at hand, and wind up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carmack/the-idea-that-i-can-be-presented-with-a-problem-set-out-to-logically/) [John Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carmack/) > [Sin, every day, takes out a patent for some new invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/sin-every-day-takes-out-a-patent-for-some-new-invention/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) ## More by Miguel de Icaza > [We have a lot of existing customers which are also considering Linux desktop migrations and rolling out some of these programs, so we're learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/we-have-a-lot-of-existing-customers-which-are-also-considering-linux/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [I've never worked with the Java community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/i-ve-never-worked-with-the-java-community/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [In some cases we've been building tools that are specific to Linux for the desktop, and they only work on Linux, but I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/in-some-cases-we-ve-been-building-tools-that-are-specific-to-linux/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [I was interested in Java the beginning, but the problem with Java is you do have to switch your platform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/i-was-interested-in-java-the-beginning-but-the-problem-with-java-is/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [All of our code is open source, so it can be used for other projects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/all-of-our-code-is-open-source-so-it-can-be-used-for-other-projects/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [There is a point in your life when you realize that you have written enough destructors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/there-is-a-point-in-your-life-when-you-realize-that-you-have-written/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [In the GNOME project we tried to keep the platform language independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/in-the-gnome-project-we-tried-to-keep-the-platform-language/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [I believe in true love. But I am easily satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/i-believe-in-true-love-but-i-am-easily-satisfied/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [We cannot choose one desktop over the other - Gnome or KDE - because there's users for both code bases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/we-cannot-choose-one-desktop-over-the-other-gnome-or-kde-because/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [Running the test suite like this allows us to catch problems when they are just introduced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/running-the-test-suite-like-this-allows-us-to-catch-problems-when/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [We could refresh the look and feel of the entire desktop with Moonlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/we-could-refresh-the-look-and-feel-of-the-entire-desktop-with/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [It's strategic for us - lots of people will develop applications in .NET.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/it-s-strategic-for-us-lots-of-people-will-develop-applications-in-net/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [We could refresh the look and feel of the entire desktop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/we-could-refresh-the-look-and-feel-of-the-entire-desktop/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [The software patent problem is not limited to Mono. Software patents affect everyone writing software today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/the-software-patent-problem-is-not-limited-to-mono-software-patents/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) > [We all love Linux, but it's also a fact that some people might not be able to migrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/we-all-love-linux-but-it-s-also-a-fact-that-some-people-might-not-be/) [Miguel de Icaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) [Explore all 28 Miguel de Icaza quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/) ## More Computer quotes > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... I think I put in 'why?' to see if I'd confuse the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/well-i-m-trying-to-think-what-i-put-in-i-think-i-put-in-why-to-see-if/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Our brains are great at knowing what to forget. We actually have to teach computers to do the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/our-brains-are-great-at-knowing-what-to-forget-we-actually-have-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Why do you do what you do? Why do you dress the way you dress?Why do you do what you do with your time?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-conway/why-do-you-do-what-you-do-why-do-you-dress-the-way-you-dress-why-do/) [Tim Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-conway/) > [Yeah, I'm a geek. I read sci-fi and I watch sci-fi films. I love my computer and I love to fix it. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) [Browse all 3,924 Computer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every piece of software written today is likely going to infringe on someone else's patent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miguel de Icaza" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/every-piece-of-software-written-today-is-likely-going-to-infringe-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/every-piece-of-software-written-today-is-likely-going-to-infringe-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/miguel-de-icaza-21968_computer_every-piece-of-software-written-today-is_1080017.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/miguel-de-icaza-21968_computer_every-piece-of-software-written-today-is_1080017.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/miguel-de-icaza-21968_computer_every-piece-of-software-written-today-is_1080017.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every piece of software written today is likely going to infringe on someone else's patent.” — Miguel de Icaza", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Miguel de Icaza", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-icaza/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every piece of software written today...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/every-piece-of-software-written-today-is-likely-going-to-infringe-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-icaza/every-piece-of-software-written-today-is-likely-going-to-infringe-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```