[Patents] Re: ICANN elections -- Endorsement of a candidate -- URGENT

[Didier Metzen didier.metzen1@libertysurf.fr]

Several remarks in the text below:

PILCH Hartmut a écrit:

> Bernhard Lang writes about Benhamou
>
> >    I believe he is a brilliant candidate for Europe, and I recommand
> > endorsing his participation in the final vote.
>
> but recently on this list I read a chilling statement from Benhamou:
>
>    Un manifestant alpague Bernard
>    Benhamou, l'un des candidats français les mieux placés pour les
>    élections au directoire de l'Icann, l'organisme mondial qui supervise
>    le fonctionnement d'Internet. L'échange est assez vif. Avec la
>    tempérance compassée du prof de Sciences-Po, Benhamou explique : "Il
>    faut aller vers une diminution de la durée de vie de la propriété
>    intellectuelle, tout en maintenant le principe des brevets, car il
>    est légitime de rémunérer les idées." Joris Vanderhoeven, chercheur au
>    CNRS, répond : "En informatique, l'innovation est rapide et
>    spontanée.
>    Les brevets sur les logiciels ne récompensent pas l'innovation. Ils
>    ne
>    font que servir les stratégies de développement des grandes
>    sociétés." »
>
> If this is reported correctly, Benhamou has not the faintest idea about
> the problem of software patents and just carelessly enounces the kind of
> prejudice that the most immature layman might have on the subject.
>
> According people ownership on abstract ideas is something outrageous even
> to patent experts, who go long ways to pretend that they are patenting
> only a "technical invention".

What do you think of copyright? It is also ownership on any kind of ideas.


> At the same time, "reducing the
> duration" is a dead-end strategy that violates TRIPS and is not even
> justifyable, because for many material inventions (such as should be
> patentable under classical patent law) 20 years is not too much but too
> little.
>

If you have this strong position on patents in general (material invention), I
don't understand at all your position on any kind of patents on software. I
don't understand why you promote a such huge difference between both types.
Ecomical logic is the same.


>
> What chills me even more is that Bernhard Lang introduces M. Benhamou as a
> person with special competence on the issue of intellectual property.
> Thils leads me to conclude that he must be a mischievous propagandist of
> the patent lobby, since I can no longer excuse his statements by
> ignorance.
>

Everybody is a foe, isn't it?


>
> -phm
>
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