Re: [Patents] European Consitution

[Hartmut Pilch <phm@a2e.de>]

> >Inserting the words: "Intellectual Property", in a Constitution is very
> >dangerous imho!

> >I generally speak of intellectual paternity, as I think moral rights are
> >to be granted and preserved, but talking of property is simply bad.
>
> I prefer "intellectual privileges".

"exclusion rights" is quite precise.

In any case one can't write into a constitution that such rights,
"shall be protected", as if they existed by nature, or that such rights
somehow a priori are essential for promoting innovation.

It would be relatively harmless to speak about "intellectual property" if
it was made clear that this refers only to individual creations (e.g.
copyright) and that patents belong to the sphere of "industrial property"
and not "intellectual property".

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1949 has a better approach
for dealing with this question.

The current European Constitution is drafted by some of the same people
who are working on the software patent and gene patent directives.  E.g.
Dr. Joachim Wuermeling, shadow rapporteur and "IP expert" of EPP, is one
of them.