Strategy (was Re: Improving copyright)

[Niall Douglas]

On 16 May 2004 at 21:56, João Miguel Neves wrote:

> A Dom, 2004-05-16 Ã s 20:19, Niall Douglas escreveu:
> > True, but use of lawyers is a sign of insecurity. And insecurity in
> > the west is growing rapidly - it's a malaise.
> > 
> In the USA it became a business cost. A founder of a portuguese SME
> that sells software in the USA told me that they have a full-time
> employee that is used to identify possible threats of litigation
> simply because they can't afford litigation. If they get sued they'll
> close down the company.
> 
> Avoiding litigation is the reason they registered software patents. --

Indeed. However no one can escape the realisation that doing business 
this way is highly inefficient - any wealth generated is having to 
pay a tithe to lawyers and if the profit margin is too eroded by that 
(ever increasing) tithe, the incentive to generate new wealth stops.

Business needs an impartial legal system to resolve trade & 
contractual disputes. What it doesn't need is high costs on doing 
business - this is like high taxes & lots of red tape. Business is 
quick to blame government for rising costs of doing business but they 
should take a closer look at how much they are costing themselves 
with bad business practices such as patent disputes.

However I think all of us in here knows that already. After I get my 
economics degree, maybe I'll write some seminal book clearly laying 
out the fiscal costs! :)

Cheers,
Niall




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