ESC Opinion and Horns Myth

[PILCH Hartmut <phm@a2e.de>]

On Tue, 12 Nov 2002, Axel H Horns wrote:

> [Strange and partially desoriented paper - obviously some members of
> the ESC have begun to echo Eurolnux propaganda myths. For details,
> see in particular the Appendix to the said opinion.         --AHH]

The fact that the EPO has been violating Art 52 EPC for years is known
well in the law world.  Eurolinux was not more than one of the
organisations which has spread the knowledge about it.

There is no way you can credibly argue that Art 52 was designed by the
legislator to allow what the EPO is doing today, nor that it was badly
designed or that the legislator didn't know what he did.  The discussions,
articles and texts of the 1960s and 70s are all there.

Attributing all this to Eurolinux is what I call the

        Axel Horns Myth
        http://swpat.ffii.org/players/horns/

and it is a behavior which is conformant to the usual standard which the
EPO and other major players of the patent system have set in this debate.

There may be people who will prefer believing the Horns myth to facing the
reality that even judicial organisations may systematically break the law,
once they are left to themselves, free to pursue their self-interest,
without any functioning checks and balances.

> Search via
>
>   http://www.esc.eu.int/scripts/avis.asp?type=en
>
> with
>
> "Opinion nr" = 1031

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. +49-89-12789608
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       http://swpat.ffii.org/
125,000 signatures against software patents      http://www.noepatents.org/