From phm@a2e.de  Tue Nov 21 08:22:26 2000
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 09:22:26 +0100 (CET)
From: PILCH Hartmut phm@a2e.de
Subject: [Patents] natural forces

> So once again I argue that this is another equivalence of software,
> hardware, mechanical and chemical that requires that their patentability
> be equivalent as well - i.e. there is no distinction to base new laws
> on.  Everything Hartmut argues against software patents can be equally
> argued against other technology areas as well.  Loss of freedom with
> software patents?  How about loss of life with pharmaceutical patents.
> And yes, I think it is a shame that the jails in Europe are overflowing
> with software programmers founds guilty of infringing a patent - they
> deserve that loss of freedom.

Since there is the cosmos-permeating equivalence of information with
concrete physical structures, there is no distinction to base new laws on
when dealing with crime.  Everything Greg says against killing of people
can be equally argued against disseminating murderous information.  In
fact there can be no distinction between the two.  It follows that there
can be no freedom of speech, because every human activity, be it
"physical" or "verbal" or fall it into whatever artificial category some
court may have thought out, must be treated equally by the penal system.  
If we have punishment in one area we must have it in all areas since there
is no scientific basis for distinguishing. And the fact that the number of
prison inmates charged for verbal trespassing offenses is very low in
countries that don't have this artificial distinction, reflects that there
is no basis in science for this "freedom of expression" stuff.  Actually,
killing a person and proving a theorem to be wrong are also equivalent in
the light of co-design tools, so they should be punished in the same way
...

-phm





