Re: [Patents] newsscan: Software patent limits 'go too far'

[Russell McOrmond <russell@flora.ca>]

On Wed, 22 Oct 2003, Jean-Baptiste Soufron wrote:

> On top of that, as a jurist, I must add a very simple question ?!? 
> 
> Why should it be to computer scientists to deal with the patentability
> of softwares?
...
> What we see now is just the normal process of the birth of legislation.


  This is not the birth of legislation we are witnessing, but various
attempts to correct a recent mistake in legislation.  Had this area of
policy went through adequate accountable and transparent public policy
development I seriously doubt the problem we are seeing now would have
happened.

  It wasn't computer scientists or democratically elected policy makers
that made software patentable.  It was lawyers, judges and software patent
special interests ("software manufacturing" firms, engineers in the
manufacturing sector who didn't want to recognize a separation of software
used in manufacturing from software used outside) that essentially pushed
new laws (as if they were "clarifications") and/or re-interpreted old laws
in radically new ways.

  Computer scientists are now having to work to try to correct this error
by getting politically involved to a level that they shouldn't have to.  
We should be writing code, not having to lobby so strongly to correct laws
and/or interpretations of laws.

---
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/> 
 Governance software that controls ICT, automates government policy, or
 electronically counts votes, shouldn't be bought any more than 
 politicians should be bought.  -- http://www.flora.ca/russell/