Editing Software patent debate (section)

===Software is different===
{{see also|artificial scarcity}}
* Software programs are different from other electromechanical devices because they are designed solely in terms of their function. The inventor of a typical electromechanical device must design new physical features to qualify for a patent. On the other hand, a software developer need only design new functions to create a working embodiment of the program.<ref name="rplotkin">{{Cite conference |doi=10.1109/ISTAS.2002.1013821 |title=Intellectual property and the process of invention: Why software is different |book-title=IEEE 2002 International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS'02). Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology. Proceedings (Cat. No.02CH37293) |page=236 |year=2002 |last1=Plotkin |first1=R. |isbn=0-7803-7284-0 }}</ref>
* Software is a component of a machine. The computer’s hardware is generic; it performs functions that are common to all of the software that is capable of being executed on the computer. Each software program that is capable of executing on the computer is a component of the computer.<ref name="rplotkin"/>
* Computers "design" and build the structure of executable software. Thus, software developers do not ''design'' the executable software's physical structure because they merely provide the functional terms.<ref name="rplotkin"/>