[Patents] Une nouvelle approche

[phm@a2e.de (PILCH Hartmut)]

On Wed, 28 Nov 2001, Philippe Coulonges wrote:

[ americans viewing patents as unamerican market-interventionism ]

> Le d=E9bat sur les brevets (logiciels, pharmaceutiques et autres) anime
> actuellement la liste FreeDevelopers.
> Sur cette liste assez am=E9ricaine, un argument peu entendu en Europe y e=
st
> d=E9fendu qui me para=EEt interessant. Les brevets y sont pr=E9sent=E9s c=
omme une
> attitude communisante. Apr=E8s une premi=E8re phase o=F9 les brevets ont =
largement
> =E9t=E9 d=E9fendus comme propri=E9t=E9, nos amis lib=E9raux d'outre atlan=
tique voient
> enfin le c=F4t=E9 protection donn=E9e par l'=E9tat. Pour eux, cela repr=
=E9sente un
> m=E9canisme socialiste de protection contraire =E0 leurs objectifs de lib=
ert=E9
> d'entreprendre.

Indeed patent practise fits very well Chomsky's statements about the
rather than letting the principle of the US state being "socialism for the
rich, free markets for the poor". On the other hand, patent lawyers like
Betten continuously use appeal to "european values" with patent theory
slogans like "regulate the market by giving David a weapon against
Goliath, avoid American type destructive competition".

When patents were introduced in Germany in 1877, economists were largely
against the project because they believed in the self-regulation potential
of the market.  The patent project was nonetheless pushed through by
"lawyers and protectionists", as Machlup explains nicely, see

=09http://swpat.ffii.org/vreji/papri/machlup58/

One central argument in the 1870s was that "others have it so we must have
it too".  Another was a new disbelief in liberal economics and a need for
symbols of the importance of the new state.  The latter is similar to
Bolkestein's need for a successful "Community Patent" project.

--=20
Hartmut Pilch                                         http://phm.ffii.org/
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation=09    http://swpat.ffii.org/
95000 signatures against software patents       http://www.noepatents.org/