"four forces of nature" in physics today

[Hartmut Pilch <phm@a2e.de>]

Contrary to what GregNews and other patent experts want us to believe, the
term "forces of nature" is based not on "old german caselaw" but on 
the general consensus of physics and epistemology today.
 
Discussions about the "four forces of nature" didn't come from patent
caselaw but from the general consensus of epistemology and physics, as
Kolle noted in 1977

        http://swpat.ffii.org/patents/2004

and this consensus doesn't seem to have changed, as far as I, not being a 
physicist, can find by a web search.

Try to search the web for

        "four forces of nature"

or

        "fifth force of nature"


You'll get a huge number of hits on both.

The hits for the first will show you that physicists in general believe
today as in the 1970s that the universe is governed by the four forces of
nature.

The second hit list will show to you that some people are speculating
about this or that fifth force (mainly because of the great attention
effect of this word, which contradicts a consensus), and that these fifth
forces are always about some kind of force exerted on matter.  

I can't find any mention of "information" or the like anywhere.  But of
course abstract reasoning (mathematics, logic, data-processing, modelling)  
is needed to explain this speculative fifth force just as much as for the
established four forces.

Patent lawyers try to pretend that they do not understand the doctrine of
"controllable forces of nature".  E.g. Ralf Nack's writings (including
doctoral thesis and expertise for german government, some of these
writings are also quoted by CEC in justification for the directive)  
dismisses the "forces of nature" doctrine as "pseudo-scientific" and tries
to discredit it by claiming that information is the "fifth force of
nature".  It bases this assertion on a 1992 article of a law professor.

Some other law professors quote

        GregNews 
        http://swpat.ffii.org/players/aharonian/

as an authority on this.

The "epistemological foundations of patentability doctrines" is a subject
at our planned conference(s)

        http://plone.ffii.org/events/2004/test/

Maybe this conference can help us end the confusion attempts and bring the 
discussion back to the level of seriosity which they deserve.

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. +49-89-18979927
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       http://swpat.ffii.org/
300,000 votes 2000 firms against software patents    http://noepatents.org/
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