[Patents] Re: [Patents] Re: [Patents] Business methods patents article.

[Jean-Paul Smets jp@smets.com]

Any anti-WTO attitude could be more harmful than useful by making 
corporations fear that
anti-patent people are anarchists or so. Also, some people will then consider 
that the
problem of software patents is the same as the one for bio-patents.

For your information, a few US bio multinational companies sponsored a few 
years ago the
most extremist anti-biopatents activists. The main reason for this attitude 
was to have
the most extreme point of view publicized in the media. Then, civil servants 
who prepared
the biopatent EU law considered that the anti point of view was the one of a 
few
extremists and was not worth considering.

In 1993, EU was against biopatents. A few years later, EU was in favour of 
biopatents.
Sponsoring extremist associations was therefore a good bet for bio 
multinationals.

The problem with software patents and bio patents is quite different actually
        1- bio patents are good for small companies and bio multinationals 
but harmful for 3rd
world countries and eventually for the society
        2- software patents are harmful for small companies, do not matter 
much for
multinationals and are certainly harmuful for the society

Also, the TRIPS/WTO agreements do not force anyone to patent software. The 
idea that the
TRIPS agreements force Europe to patent software is mostly a juridical 
agreement made by
IP experts who lack economic agreements. 

Therefore, I think it is more useful to act as follows
        1- Explain that the WTO/TRIPS agreements do not force Europe to 
patent software (read for
example Paul Harnack declaration at the London Conference
http://www.patent.gov.uk/softpat/en/1000.html)
        2- Challenge the fact that software patents are useful by reminding 
that no economic
study has ever been published by govt/administrations

Regards,

JPS.

Krzysztof Sobolewski wrote:
> 
> Okay, another great initiative.
> We antipatenters are getting stronger and stronger and it's very good.
> Anyway, why not join the anti-WTO coalitiion?
> To the best of my knowledge, WTO does support IT patents.
> And Gattt, the pre-wto org have imposed them.
>   What do ya think?
> antipatently yours
>    CRitto
> 
> On Tue, 22 Feb 2000, Stefane Fermigier wrote:
> 
> > http://www.techreview.com/articles/ma00/shulman.htm
> >
> > Software Patents Tangle the Web
> >
> >       S.
> >
> > --
> > Stéfane Fermigier, Tel: 06 63 04 12 77 (mobile).
> > <www.portalux.com>: le portail Linux / logiciel libre.
> >
> >
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> >
> 
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