From Bernard Lang <Bernard.Lang@inria.fr>  Fri May  4 16:56:44 2001
From: Bernard Lang <Bernard.Lang@inria.fr> (Bernard Lang)
Date: Fri, 4 May 2001 17:56:44 +0200
Subject: [Patents] Black and white
In-Reply-To: <mnet1.988978014.8429.kodama@netcourrier.com>; from kodama@netcourrier.com on Fri, May 04, 2001 at 02:06:55PM +0200
References: <mnet1.988978014.8429.kodama@netcourrier.com>
Message-ID: <20010504175644.F22692@margaux.inria.fr>


This message is obviously a troll by someone using the traditional
approach of the patent lobby... ignoring all the real arguments that
have been developed here, on the web sites, in the economic
literature, in the legal literature, and in a variety of documents,
including for example the SYNTEC answer to the European Commission

  FYI, SYNTEC is French association of Software companies.  And the
anonymous coward S.C. is apparently French.


  Just ignore him

Bernard


On Fri, May 04, 2001 at 02:06:55PM +0200, kodama@netcourrier.com wrote:
> Dear all, 
> 
> I have been reading some threads for weeks, and the feeling I have is that you really see the world in a black and white way. 
> 
> For instance, the threads about "Free software vs software patents". 
> However, if you look carefully how works the business, the same companies may fund free software AND file patent applications. The 2 worlds could exist together.
> 
> Another manichean thread is "US patent owners" against european poor company". But where do you have seen that european companies do not have any software patents ??   The point is that every software company having a long-term strategy do have software patents, in US or in Europe. 
> Anyway, it is somewhat stupid to see the world as a Europe vs US war.
> 
> Last (only because I have no time to go through every arguments :-) ),  there is always and always the same old argument about big company owning patents and start-ups without any.
> Again a stupid dichotomy :
> - a lot of startup do have patents !
> - the main asset of a start-up vis a vis big companies when negociating partnerships or contracts is patent portfolio. Otherwise, how to measure their know-how and what they bring ?
> In addition, a start-up making R&D without patenting may easily be copied by other bigger companies (or other start-ups : start up does not mean white goose !). The only mean to prevent this is patenting !
> 
> Again, one may go on and go pointing out the silly arguments that some of people there do write and rewrite all the time. 
> I hope that many of them are still students, so without any real knowledge about business world. That may be an excuse.
> 
> But seeing everything in b&w, good vs evil,... well youth and inexperience is not a sufficient excuse :-)
> 
> S. C
> 
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