[Patents] Some remarks on Vol 1 #284

[Nicolas MONNET nico@monnet.to]

On Tue, 10 Oct 2000, Pierre BREESE wrote:

|> You can not claim that "everyone should be free to choose its tactics"
|> if the tactics from one person involves creating trouble to others or
|> involves others to follow the same tactics. `
|
|The trouble comes from people doing "business" without taking in account
|prior IP rights of competitors...

|Pierre BREESE
|European Patent Attorney

That's fine and dandy, now I'm a software engineer, I might release
something open source or not so free software written by yours truly
himself, and now, suddenly, I have to be aware of any of the 13'000
patents available, most of which, even if they pertain to my profession, I
could'nt even comprehend. (Me non parlare lawyerspeak).

There's something silly about this.

To quote M. Aharonian:

>The amount of time and resources needed to create an invention has
>never been a criteria for determining a patent, and is idiotic when
>you think about it - it would reserve the patent system to only
>those with lots of time and money.

Currently, as an independent developer, I can't afford the "protection" of
a patent, and I could'nt afford to sue an infringer anyway. I can't
afford (time and money wise) to make patent research.

Now, if I was a big company developing a new line of electronic coffee
pots, considering the size of the investments, investing a few millions in
patent research and application is nothing.

For me, it's impossible. Esp. if I don't plan to make any money on that
software.

NOW, if I knew that only big, expensive research could be covered by
patents, I could sleep quietly. But it's becoming like I'm about to get
raped. 

As a developer, I don't gain anything from software patents.
As a citizen, I don't gain anything from software patents.