[Gllug] Regarding priracy (sic)

[Sean Burlington]

Bernard Peek wrote:
> In message <3E65F6F3.3090604 at uncertainty.org.uk>, Sean Burlington 
> <sean at uncertainty.org.uk> writes
> 
>> Bruce Richardson wrote:
[SNIP]
> 
> The length of copyright and patent protection should be re-evaluated. 
> The USA have just increased copyright protection to 95 years.
> 
> Patent lifetimes on medicines are too short, and that is causing a lot 
> of grief in that business.

not nearly as much grief as the patents are causing in the 3rd world !

and drugs companies still spend far more on marketing than research

In fact I find making medicine a business fairly grim at the best of 
times - I am not convinced that this is the only way to do it...

>>
>> It is also tied very much to the issue of monopoly - big companies use 
>> often illegal practises to protect thier own interests - and then 
>> complain when ordinary folk break thier rules.
> 
> 
> Big companies usually avoid illegal practises if they can. They do work 
> hard at getting what they want while complying with the letter of the law.

I disagree with that

I don't think big companies care about whether what they do is or isn't 
legal - they care if it will be profitable or not (Microsoft being 
exhibit A)

breaking the law is often expensive for businesses that have offices 
lited in the phone book


>> One of the really odd things is the way 'indusrty standard' software 
>> depends on copying: if students didn't have dodgy copies of photoshop 
>> they couldn't learn it and it wouldn't be standard, if office workers 
>> didn't have dodgy copies of MS Office at home offices might choose to 
>> use something cheaper to enable people to work at home ...
> 
> 
> Which is why product activation is Microsoft's suicide-note. It's the 
> start of their exit strategy.
> 

:)

while I would like copyright laws changed - in some ways free software 
would be best advanced by strictly enforcing the current laws :-)

-- 

Sean


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