Strategy (was Re: Improving copyright)

[João Miguel Neves]

A Sex, 2004-05-14 às 20:57, Niall Douglas escreveu:
> > And about the patenting stuff, I don't think there will be software
> > patents in Europe.
> 
> Our best and only chance was via the parliament because it's 
> something we can influence. The council of ministers is effectively 
> closed to our voice and there's little we can do about it (that's why 
> the old left in Britain disliked the EU, it's fundamentally anti-
> democratic). I personally am resting easy until the directive returns 
> to the EP when I'll either campaign for a yes or no vote depending on 
> whether it's good or not.
> 
Fortunately you're also wrong on this one. In the last few days we
managed to stop the council position to be simply nodded through the
council and we're getting more and more governments on our side.

> However my comments were referring to the globe. Microsoft is quietly 
> patenting key parts of Linux and if it ever needed to, it could sue 
> everyone using Linux for patent breach though not in the EU if the 
> parliament amended directive were passed. Bye bye Linux if that 
> happens.

Not true also. Unlike copyright, patents have a very interesting
mechanism where a country can disable the patent mechanism in the name
of "national interests". Talking from a country where all the Internet
infrastructure depends on free software and about 1/7th of the public
administrations computers, that could probably be justified.

-- 
						João Miguel Neves


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