[Sussex] Some Good Will Come From Software Patents

[Steve Dobson]

Geoff

On Mon, Dec 20, 2004 at 04:34:38PM +0000, Geoffrey Teale wrote:
> Just read your post briefly, do forgive me if I misunderstood or missed
> something.
> 
> You're suggesting that western software patents may drive more business
> into the third world as companies try to avoid licensing costs?

That was basicly the argument.
 
> This may be true in the short term, but what will happen in the longer
> term is that the countries that do well will want to join the World
> Trade Organisation, as and when they do they will be forced recognise
> the western patent systems by the almighty weight of the USA (as China
> found out with copyright evasion).  Ultimately everyone will come in
> line and then we'll all be screwed.

I saw something on the telly that the Indian Governement had recently
changed it's laws to assist their own copy cat industries (the programme
was about copy-cat AIDS drugs).  There can be no other countries outside
the WTO that have the industrial size that China has.  China had to 
change because, IIRC, is was already in the WTO and had a lot to lose
by not complying.

I disagree that ultimately everyone will have to come in line.  I have 
seen posts on GL recently that suggest that the WTO is rejecting the
USA's bullyboy stance.
 
> Why are we on the verge of Software Patents via the back door?  Because
> special interest groups in the US (And admittedly a few in the EU) want
> it, and they'll keep trying to force it through whichever way they can.
> The USA recently used its economic might to force Australia into
> accepting their patent law.  The EU is the only organisation with enough
> economic might to push back against the USA's current "Monopolies and
> chap labour for all" stance - if we don't start winning these battles,
> and caring a lot more about these big issues rather than harping on
> about "saving the pound" and "keeping out the immigrants" (and all the
> other trashy, over inflated lies the gutter press pedals to draw
> attention away from its owner's agendas) then we are destined to a life
> enslaved to the corporations who can afford the most lawyers.

With that I agree.
 
> In short, if we want to avoid that future we have to:
> 
> - Stop fighting Europe and get actively involved in making the bodies
> that control our law (both in the UK and Europe) understand the dangers.
> 
> - Support organisations like the Free Software Foundation (Europe) in
> their campaign against software patents.

Yeap.

Steve