Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson has personally donated $250,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a not-for-profit lobby group favoured by the games industry for its work in digital rights advocacy.
The EFF is currently pushing for patent law reform with its Defend Innovation initiative. US patent laws can hinder or even sink software development in games and beyond, thanks to the crippling cost of lawsuits which often hinge on technicalities.
“Temporary fixes aren’t good enough – we need deep and meaningful reform to protect software development and keep it as free and democratic as possible,” Persson said in a statement.
“New games and other technological tools come from improving on old things and making them better – an iterative process that the current patent environment could shut down entirely. This is a dangerous path we’re on, and I’m glad to help EFF move us in the right direction.”
Thanks, Kotaku.
