Re: [Patents] Software patents: the case against

["Christian Beauprez" <beauprez@beauprez.fsnet.co.uk>]

Dear Erik,

Thanks for your input on this. You and Hartmut have certainly raised
interesting points in this regard. We are certainly all singing from the
same hymn sheet so to speak..

I think that your examples are astute on this, as are Harmut's. If I can
find a way of putting these elements together I think that we can come up
with killer examples of "technical" literary works and abstract  ideas.

 Perhaps Hartmut is right in terms of music being equated as aesthetic
rather than industrious, I suppose it depends on how we define industry. I
think the core idea here is that what this amounts to algorithms,
mathematical solutions and pure data being patented and this is the key.
When pure information becomes patentable then abstract ideas become
inventions.

I noticed also your reference to hardware. I believe that you are correct on
this principle. The "compromise" proposals contained all the fluff about
claims relating to "an apparatus" but that strikes me as attempt to divert
attention from the core of the patent. - I also notice the "compromise"
proposals talk of technical effects that are realised in "part or whole" by
programs rather than directed to the "computer program" itself.

What you are explaining in the Peterson case sounds very similar to the
"business process" patents that have flooded the US since State Street.
Perhaps you both could both help me narrow down to relevant examples. I have
some examples already.

Namely:

An instruction manual : I like the idea of this but I am not sure if people
could equate this with a process based example. I was also not sure because
the instruction manual could relate to a legitimately patented technology.

A formula: I remember in an earlier e-mail Hartmut mentioned that we could
just as easily talk of the "technical character" of a mathematical formula.
I like this example but again is there a process that we can talk about
where a formula on it's own could fulfill industrial application without
resorting to computer program examples. Perhaps the Petterson case is an
excellent example of this.

Music: I liked this example because it could be shown to work in a process,
but the problem is that people could see it as an aesthetic rather than
industrious product.

A queuing method: I shall look into the  Petterson queue case more closely,
I think this is an interesting example.

A science fiction novel that describes a new technology.

I was thinking of also including pseudo-patent examples that could be shown
to fulfil the criteria. Mind you it seems that there are so many real life
ones maybe that won't be necessary!

Any  further ideas on this from anyone most welcome: I want to get the ideas
distilled into the argument that quickly knocks the pro-patent case down so
that everyone can see the absurdity of it.

Best Wishes,

Chris