[Gllug] european software patents

[Adrian McMenamin]

On Saturday 05 July 2003 16:54, Nix wrote:
> On Thu, 3 Jul 2003, Doug Winter yowled:
> > I suspect MEPs care less about their constituency since nobody votes in
> > European elections anyway.
>
> In that case, they'd care *more* about those who write to them; such
> people are interested, and might become a voter. If very few people
> vote, then getting a single extra voter counts for quite a lot.


Having worked with senior politicians in a variety of jobs over the last 10 
years I can tell you the idea that any of them don't care what their electors 
think is nonsense.

If anything the opposite - they worry too much about the views of the 
electorate as opposed to doing The Right Thing - is true.

Politicians are open to being lobbied. But they are no more likely to respond 
positively to the "you are all useless, corrupt and stupid" line that many of 
the (non-lurking) subscribers to this list seem to take than any of us are 
likely to respond positively to being told by some MS dunderheid that we are 
destroying freedom, writing useless software and assisting terrorism.

As this is a political discussion I am going to make it even more 
controversial by saying that I think one of the reasons FOSS gets screwed is 
because it is too often influenced by the the extreme right libertarianism of 
the ESR variety. It is too easy to dismiss government as a waste of time and 
taxes as an unacceptible burden (though you won't be thinking that as the 
ambulance rushes you to hospital I'll bet :->).

Afterall we have a Labour government in this country. It is increasing 
spending on public services by an unpreceedented proportion. They won't be 
interested in arguments based on "simply let the market decide" - just not 
subtle enough, frankly.

Far better to focus on how FOSS could promote the sorts of social and economic 
benefits the government and Labour Party say they support. Cheaper and better 
software for schools is one example I can think of (pace the RML discussion 
we were having).

But I am also left with one more impression - that maybe there is a lot of 
woolf being cried here. Afterall the US already has software patents, and i 
also has the DMCA, yet free software is also spewing out of the place.

Look, I know software patents are a bad idea, but practical examples of why 
they are seem a bit thin on the ground....


{Retreats to bunker}




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