Re: [Patents] That Article

[Russell McOrmond <russell@flora.ca>]

On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, PILCH Hartmut wrote:

> A journalist reading this list asked me in private 
> mail whether this means that we assert that copyright is also
> inappropriate or ineffective.

  Anytime someone asks whether something is "ineffective" I have to ask
them the obvious: ineffective at accomplishing what?

  First you decide what it is you are trying to accomplish, then you find
the right tools to accomplish that goal.  Those who are trying to protect
the past from competition (those asking for stronger exclusive rights)  
have entirely different goals than those of us trying to protect and
promote current and future innovation.

  If promoting software innovation is the goal (and that is a big *if* in
some policy circles), then we need to protect software enough so that it
is not trivially duplicated without authorization (the type of thing
copyright does) to protect first-mover advantage, but still highly
competative and allowing newcomers to have a relatively low barrier to
entry (something patents obviously do not do).


  Those who think "more is better" forget that this is not how it ever
works in real life.  Exclusive rights (patents, copyright, etc) is to
innovation/creativity like water is to humans: too little and you
dehydrate and die, too much and you drown and die.

  Information process patents are like throwing water at drowning people.

>       http://kwiki.ffii.org/IndpropEn
> 
> for a future vision of a copyright-like system of industrial property.
> 
> But maybe we shouldn't call it copyright.

  Not everyone would agree on calling it Industrial property eithor.

  Take my belief that software code is a form of law.  
http://www.flora.ca/russell/drafts/code-is-law-speedgeek.html

  Should those laws (that code) that govern the public be public in
nature, or private/industrial in nature?  I know that I believe that
public code should have the same (if not greater) level of
accountability/transparancy/citizen-input as public policy, and the very
limited exclusive rights offered should respect that.

-- 
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/> 
 Code is Law: how software code regulates the activities of citizens,
 and acts similar to law.  How do we ensure transparency/accountability?  
 http://www.flora.ca/russell/drafts/code-is-law.html