EU patent decision delayed

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Yes, good point about slavery and objectivity here...

It may be the prevailing attitude today that slavery is wrong and that it is not right to "own" people. But it wasn't always the case.

I'm sure a slaveowner would object to any discussion regarding abolising slaves or the slave trade. They've got a vested interest, and arguing with slaveowners is pointless no matter how wrong the owners' position is. The slaveowners' arguments might go along the lines of expecting to "..recoup the time and money they spent on THEIR PROPERTY." In other words, ill-gained profit.

No_Axe obviously has (he admitted himself) a vested position on which way the software patent debate falls. I don't expect him to put the greater good over his personal profits. He'll probably try to claim otherwise, but his position is actually quite similar to the slave trade: His own personal interests and profits are more important than society's interests.

Everyone knows that patents will be used by the big and established companies to crush or suffocate the little, often by questionable patents. While there may be some small benefit for the little guy, this gain is more than offset by the power of a legal monopoly. Software patents are less about innovation and more of protectionism of the established players.

The fact that there is big debate in Europe is good news, for it shows that not everyone is blinded. Being in the US, I regret that innovation is flowing outside our borders since we here spent our money in lawsuits rather than innovating. Patents are used by big companies to set up patent oligopolies to lock out everyone else from the market.

I do not support the use of software patents anywhere, even when its used against the big players (like Eolas v. Microsoft). The marketplace is simply much better and more efficient and innovative without software patents.
There is protection for software, and that's copyright.

Posted by: Root User   Posted on: 12/08/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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