From srctran@world.std.com  Thu Jul 12 20:17:46 2001
From: srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian)
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 15:17:46 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [Patents] Re: [FYI] BMWi Workshop on SWPAT
References: <Pine.LNX.4.33.0107112234570.6571-100000@mulix.oas.a2e.de>
Message-ID: <200107121917.PAA26578@world.std.com>

Jozef writes in support of sui generis:
>append petite patent law onto the copyright regulations, where software
>currently receives its greatest protection anyway.

Other than for specific executable products, copyright provides little
to no effective protection for software, at least here in the US, where
the courts and academic papers make it quite clear that software is
too much process and method to qualify for copyright protection.
Copyright is not a viable alternative to patents if you support the
principle of an invenotr being able to control the use of his software.

Now if you mean copyright gives the greatest protection to users of
software at the expense of the inventor, then you may be right.  But
here in the US, for what is being patented in software, copyright is
generally considered useless (as useless as the sui generis proposals
which are little more than dressed up copyright).  Heck, the
Samuelson Manifesto you all love to cite so tried to deny reality
that they couldn't bring themselves to use "process" and "method",
I think using "behavior" and other such words.  That made the rest
of their Manifesto just as problematic.

Greg Aharonian


