Europe's software patent war ignites again

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Legal fictions are solemn things.

For all governments, there are a number of facts which would be inconvenient if recognized. Therefore, governments do not recognize them.
One example is treating corporations partly as people. Given use of the term natural person, call companies unnatural persons.

The existence of a legal fiction is an indication that important factors indirectly connected to the issue have not been resolved. So in order to assure that principle does not get in the way of performance, a falsehood is created and honored.

We can speculate about what factors have led EU legislators to create the fiction that software patents are not approved and thriving. Plausible denial is not the correct termy; only fact obvious to all is being denied, and such denial is inevitably implausible.



There has been some dispute about EU patents among software companies, I've read. Companies from the US like the current unregulated issuance of software patents in the EU. Those in the EU dislike the uncertainty, and prefer that rules are created for the benefit of Courts and bureaucracies.

No software company, of course, would want to do without patents. Because their prosperity relies entirely on ideas, their value would be reduced intolerably if their main assets were suddenly handed over to the world.


The title of this post comes from Gilbert's libretto for Gondoliers.

Quoting the context:

Giuseppe. Now, although we act as one person, we are, in point of fact, two persons.

Annibale. Ah, I don't think we can go into that. It is a legal fiction, and legal fictions are solemn things. Situated as we are, we can't recognize two independent responsibilities.

Giuseppe. No; but you can recognize two independent appetites. It's all very well to say we act as one person, but when you supply us with only one ration between us, I should describe it as a legal fiction carried a little too far.

Annibale. It's rather a nice point. I don't like to express an opinion off-hand. Suppose we reserve it for argument before the full Court?



The EU legislators are dealing with a similar conundrum in the same way. By delay.

Posted by: Anton Philidor   Posted on: 09/21/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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