[Patents] Re: french views

[Nicolas MONNET nico@monnet.to]

On Sat, 7 Oct 2000, Pierre BREESE wrote:

|In my concern, I 'm mostly in touch with small companies and start-up. They
|have a burning need of protecting their innovation, especially software
|innovations. They can’t abdicate of the possibility of claiming a solid
|industrial property right, particulary in partnerships with big clients. They
|must manage the “return of invest".

As a software engineer who, in his carrier, has never seen a software
"invention" worth of deserving a patent, I would like to see one. If that
exists.

This is a serious request.

I want to be shown an invention which deserved a patent, because it took
large amounts of funding to discover it, and would not be profitable
without a patent.

I'm thinking, here, of what everybody here will agree on, as the perfect
example of essential patents: medical drugs. High development cost, can
only be protected by a patent.

Another thing, regarding drug patents: when you compare drugs (molecules?)
to software, does'nt the protection resemble most that which copyrights
provides for software. I.E. you're not allowed "copy" a molecule, but if
you find a similar one with the same effects, you're not infringing.

Just wondering.