[Patents] Re: french views at CNCPI

[PILCH Hartmut phm@a2e.de]

> Sacr=E9 Bernard...
> It seems, your arguments become very inconsistent...What a pity=85

Why?

Bernhard responded to jgk.novatek (Mr Novatek?), who regularly answers
arguments by short pointers to some alleged French IP authorities rather
than by explicit counter-arguments.

It is true that IP experts generally don't care about the consequences of
extending the patent system.  They are (and have to be) preoccupied with
the interests of their customers, and these customers are very often
people with much money and limited understanding.  If you are in the
jungle and meet a gorilla with a gun, you'd better say "Sir", and if you
meet ignorant gorillas every day, you'll automatically adopt their
thinking and become one of them.  In the long run, money + repetition lend
authority even to gorilla doctrines such as "If A gets a patent for an
improved typewriter, why shouldn't B get a patent for an advanced
text-processing program?"

This is why IP lawyers are nowadays in a position of having very little
authority or competence to speak about the problems of software
patentability.  They have been entrusted with the stewardship of a well
delimited fine legal tradition, and they have screwed it, leading the
patent system into a juridically, morally and economically untenable
position.

Of course we welcome Mr. Novatek or Mr. Breese to discuss with us, but
they have no reason to adopt a high-brow attitude like "what a pity" ...
"here's a dime for you boy, go and read the great patent literature of
CNCPI" or the like.

-phm