[ILUG] Fwd: Mary Harney's Answer on Software Patents

[Dermot McGahon]

On Fri, 21 May 2004 12:02:01 +0100, Steven Satelle (Service Desk)  
<Steven.Satelle at aer-rianta.ie> wrote:

> Does that mean they are saying software patents will not be possible of  
> is it hocus pocus and they fully intend to do it. Or is it that theyhave  
> their heads in the sand and dont see that that will happen?
>
> ('They' are the EU and IE gov's)

It's hard to know.

It says that one-click shopping in not patentable but a clever computer
controlled gizmo for nuclear power plant monitoring or a better way of
milking a cow under computer control, is.

We'd have to read the actual piece of legislation though, and it will
be open to interpretation by patent office in the first instance, and
the courts in the final instance.

Legislators don't always get it wrong. People are right to question
this, but it's the actual implementation that we'll have to judge.

European legislators often learn much from mistakes made in the states.

Our GM food policies, for example, have been fairly careful and a
credit to the commisioner, David Byrne, who is stepping down soon.

It would be difficult, but possible, to change the situation
retrospectively and at this point, that might be the best we can hope
for. There's always the next parliament reading. The problem is that
the council is the real power, and they know it. The parliament has
been steadily gaining power and influence over the last decade, but
they still don't have teeth on issues such as this. On budgetary
matters, the parliament/council power divide is now probably fair.


Dermot.
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