[ILUG] Software Patents Debate

[Justin Mason]

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You think that's good?   Check out what Charlie McCreevy said about
anti-software-patent people --

  'The theme, or the background music, to both of these particular
  directives (the CII and Services Directives) you could see as part of,
  anti-globalisation, anti-Americanism, anti-big business protests -- in
  lots of senses, anti-the opening up of markets' 

my comments on that, cut from http://taint.org/2005/07/05/222906a.html --

  This is standard practice for the Irish government -- they did exactly
  the same thing with the e-voting issue, painting the ICTE as 'linked to
  the anti-globalisation movement'. (I have a feeling they think that any
  group organised online must be 'anti-globalisation', at this stage.)

  Of course, with these accusations of being anti-free-market, it's
  important to remember that a patent is a government-issued monopoly on
  an invention (or in the software field, on an idea), in a particular
  local jurisdiction. If anything, being against software patenting is a
  pro-free-market position, one shared by prominent US libertarians; and
  nothing gets more pro-free-market than those guys. ;)


(Totally agreed BTW that the only real winners from a "harmonized"
european software patent system would be the IP lawyers.  guess who
are the most prominent pro-swpat voices?)

- --j.

Niall Walsh writes:
> So here I am, watching the EU Parliment debate on Software Patents from:
> 
> http://media.vrijschrift.org/europarl050705.html
> 
> and I'm starting to wonder if anyone spoke in English or if anyone would not 
> say they would be supporting some semblence of reasonable sounding amendments  
> when at first I finally reach an English gentleman.   He proclaims he will 
> vote against everything, it's all a monolith and if the eu is the answer the 
> question is patentently stupid.   Easily ignored though it left me feeling a 
> little sad that this was the first native English speaking opinion.
> 
> Then next up is ... Union for the Union of Nations group Mr Crowley with a 
> clearly Irish accent.
> 
> So I hit a quick google as I listen:
> 
> http://www.google.ie/search?q=irish+mep+crowley+2005
> 
> so to answer the question from the first linked result (fsf-ie ... what is 
> this guys story): let me transcribe his 2 minutes worth (punctuation and 
> spelling is generally left as an exercise for the reader, video time 
> 01:09:55-01:12:24 on my screen though I don't know I believe it, don't ask me 
> how I played it, I may incriminate myself, but Sonya know's the answer):
> 
> "Thank you very much Mr. President.  At the outset I want to play a personal 
> tribute to the Raperteur Mr Rochard who's had a very difficult task in trying 
> to find compromises and argreements on this and in saying that it also 
> saddens me to say that many times when I listen to the debate on this issue 
> both in the committee and here in the chamber itself that it seems that we 
> are totally unconnected with the reality of whats happening outside of these 
> walls because innovation is the very key and the very engine that will drive 
> our economies.  When people speak about ensuring that other people can use 
> software patents, they seem to think that everybody can come up with these 
> ideas themselves and they don't need any protection or any ... any ... any 
> grounding for those ideas, however what we do see happening is by some of the 
> people proposing some of the amendments and by some of the lobby that has 
> taken place on this issue, they simply want a free for all, no protection 
> within the European Union and what would that lead to, that would lead to 
> American companies or Japanese companies or other companies patenting the 
> very ideas that European software developers, European innovators come up 
> with and forcing those same European innovators to have to buy them back from 
> them.  Patents are not a sword, patents are a shield, they're there to defend 
> your ideas.  We should ensure that the rules and regulations that we set down 
> guarantee that those innovators have those protections and have those rights 
> and when I hear some of the speeches coming out in the chamber here and again 
> some of the lobbying material that I have received over the last number of 
> weeks on this issue saying about protecting small and medium size enterprises 
> just give you one example. In the innovative computer techonology sector in 
> Ireland there are one hundred thousand jobs, sixty two thousand of those jobs 
> come from small and medium size enterprises. They fully support the common 
> position on this issue and thats why we'd urge all members to think with 
> their hearts but most importantly with your mind, what protection would you 
> like to see if you have ideas.  This is not about harmonisation, this is more 
> about mutual recognition of 25 varying and different regulations in the 
> member states to ensure that small companies, small innovators can be 
> guaranteed legal certainty and financial certainty with regard to the 
> protection of their ideas and the promotion of them."
> 
> Beautiful!  Leaves me yet again ashamed to be Irish when it comes to this 
> issue.  Interesting to note that Mr Crowley seems to be equally as ashamed of 
> his Fianna Fail connections, mentioning them but twice on his personal mep 
> site (briancrowleymep.ie), once as the last item on his cv, and the other as 
> the second last of his links (has Fianna Fail ordered PageRank boosting links 
> as a whip condition).  I seem to recall noticing similar things from other 
> Fianna Fail TD/MEPs the last time I was browsing such sites (and certainly on 
> election posters).  I'd love to see some statistics on the pride of place of 
> Party Connections on individual sites, by party :-)
> 
> Nice to see he at least admits that he wants people to be able to patent their 
> ideas and doesn't pretend this is about anything less.
> 
> Also I wonder how many people on this list are being personally thought of 
> when he throws out the accusation of lobbyists wanting "a free for all, no 
> protection within the European Union"?
> 
> I also wonder what he thinks will stop a European inventor taking out a 
> Japanese or American Patent?  And what will allow a non European company to 
> take out a European patent a European company cannot?
> 
> "Patents are not a sword, patents are a shield" ... rubbish.  If anything they 
> are a sword (their raison d'etre is to sue, or at least threaten and settle, 
> if no-one sue's no-one needs their protection for cross-licensing) but if 
> anything they are simply the raw iron for the lawyers blacksmithery.
> 
> The one piece I can guarantee is a lie is his claim that the 62,000 Irish SME 
> employees support the common position.  20 company owners who responded to a 
> 24 hour Sunday email request clearly stated the obvious.
> 
> If you are a member of Mr Crowley's constituency (which I am not) perhaps you 
> might like to consider an appropriate response.
> 
> Hope your all feeling wiser.
> 
> Time to see what anyone else has to say in this debate.
> 
> Niall
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