Re: [Patents] philosophical aspects of software patents

[Bernard Lang <Bernard.Lang@inria.fr>]

On Sat, Aug 30, 2003 at 10:46:07PM +0200, fred.boutet@wanadoo.fr wrote:
> 
> The debate on software patentability also addresses old philosophical 
> questions : are computing machines intelligent ? Can we think of making 
> software applications patentable withtout asking what represents these 
> applications for humans and for the european society ? If programmed 
> machines are intelligent, can we patent intelligence ?
> 
> Alan Turing (1912-1954), english mathematician philosopher contributed to 
> these questions by publishing in 1950 the famous article {Computing 
> Machinery and Intelligence} in {Mind}. As part of his argument Turing put 
> forward the idea of an 'imitation game', in which a human being and a 
> computer would be interrogated under conditions where the interrogator 
> would not know which was which, the communication being entirely by textual 
> messages. Turing argued that if the interrogator could not distinguish them 
> by questioning, then it would be unreasonable not to call the computer 
> intelligent.
> 
> When a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) studies an invention 
> controlled by a program (the ABS break system or the mobile phone), he or 
> she may think that the software application is intelligent, that it is new 
> and that it contributes significantly to the state of the art in the 
> technical domain. Hence, the MEP may be favorable for the software 
> application to be patented. This vision may be partial but this is the main 
> argument for those writing the proposal.
> 


Wrong discussion.

This MEP is mistaken as to the role of patents to begin with ...

Patents are intended "to promote Progress of Science and useful Arts"
and to help economic growth.
  The criteria such as being new, contributing to the art, etc... are
just criteria that have been considered useful in the material
industry.  No more.  Patent granting has used different criteria at
different times, and in various countries.
   Nothing proves they are effective for the real goal in intangible
activities.

  Your discussion is interesting for the philosopher, and irrelevant
politically and economically.

Cordialement

Bernard

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