Re: [Patents] Discussion tomorrow with Eero Bomanson (HELP)

[Simo Sorce <simo.sorce@xsec.it>]

On Tue, 2003-03-18 at 12:24, Stefano Maffulli wrote:
> On Tue, 2003-03-18 at 00:41, Ville Oksanen wrote:
> > Any suggestions how to counter these arguments? The audience is mostly
> > IP-lawyers, which means that I'm anyway facing an up-hill battle.. Also, 
> > do
> > you have any questions for Mr Bomanson, I hope that I will be able to get
> > some answers out of him.
> 
> Is GSM a patented technology?  If not, mention that Nokia (and overall
> European) success with wireless technology was based on the fact that
> there is a widely adopted and free standard that anybody can
> implement.... 

I'm not expert in GSM field, but if I remember it correctly there is a
number of patents that apply, only a number of industries came into
agreement not to use them to fight each other but to cross patent (or
sort of) to get compatibility.

Please blame me if I got this point wrong! :)


So the fact is the it is not true that anybody can implement it, I think
you need to pay a substantial fee to enter the market, BUT it is true
that the patents have not given any advantage.
Rather they had to agree not to use them because them would have made it
impossible to have GSM technology out and working.

This mean that they had to deal with the patent threat, this is an
evidence at how patents does NOT work as they should.
They have to be defeated before a new technology can really emerge.

> I know it is an argument about standards, more than about sw patents,
> but you may use it as a demonstration that not putting
> artificial/illegal obstacles to technology does indeed lead to huge
> market growth and huge income for companies.  Stress that GSM is a whole
> european succes.

Yes I think that this is a good point, given you tell them the patent
had been effectively neutralized before it worked out.

They are still a barrier to new subjects.

Simo.

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