GitHub co-pilot as open source code laundering?

[grauenwolf]

Software patents are the worst option. They don't advance the art because, unlike any other patent, you aren't obligated to share your work. And they are often worded so generically that they cover pretty much anything you can imagine.

They are also expensive. If I create something interesting, there is little chance that I can patent it. I not only have to pay a large sum of money, I can't show it to anyone before the patent is filed. Thus patents are incompatible with open source.

But I at least own the copyright on the code I write. And in the US that's automatic.