[Fsfe-ie] Ms. Harney on Newstalk 106 tomorrow (Friday)

[teresahackett at eircom.net]

Hello Eibhear,

Good idea. Here's my cent's worth:
1. Include a subject heading e.g. Software patents block invention: proposed Directive on software patents (so-called "Computer-Implemented Inventions") under the Irish Presidency
2. First paragraph: It was announced this week that the Irish Presidency are aiming for political agreement on the 
Directive on software patents at their next meeting on ??17 May?? and want to overturn the amendments made by the European Parliament in September 2003.
3. Pose the question
4. Give your arguments, suggest bullet point format
5. Be careful with comparisions with US. It's accepted the the EU lags behind the US in terms of competitiveness (Harney's speciality). You can imagine the argument-US have patents, US are competetive i.e. patents encourge competition.

I'll try and listen out.

Teresa

> 
> Should you also address the issue of non-R&D companies and contracotrs
> having to negotiate a minefield of patent issues just to implement a website
> or a bit of bespoke software,
> 
> F
> 
> On Thu, Apr 15, 2004 at 05:41:40AM -0500, ?ibhear wrote:
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I heard this morning that Dave McWilliams will be having breakfast with Mary
> > Harney tomorrow morning. This is usually an hour-long chat, and the
> > programme asks for people to send in their own questions and comments. I
> > propose to send in the below. I'm not certain that I have the correct read
> > on things (the question below reflects my own opinion), but if the IFSO
> > wants to put it name to it, then maybe I can get some more suggestions.
> > 
> > I am focusing in my question on small and indigenous businesses as I don't
> > want the question turned away because it advocates what many people believe
> > (wrongly, but there's little that can be done about it in one question) that
> > Free Software is an uber-socialist phenomenon.
> > 
> > Here's my question for herself, anyway.
> > 
> > ?ibhear
> > --
> > Hi,
> > 
> > Perhaps you can bring the following up with the Tanaiste when you are
> > speaking with her.
> > 
> > This week, it was announced that the proposed EU directive on software
> > patents has been referred "back up to the 'political' level". The
> > government, as President of the EU, wants all the objections dropped,
> > including all the clarifying amendments that were added to it in the
> > European Parliament last September.
> > 
> > There are many thousands of software-based patents in the US, some passing
> > ridiculous and entrenching themselves right in the middle of sublime. Most
> > of these are held by the large corporations from the US -- Microsoft, IBM,
> > Sun Microsystems, etc. These organisations have small or no R&D operations
> > in Ireland. What is here is easily relocated to the US or the far east at
> > the piqued whim of a company's CEO. If software patents are brought into
> > Europe, then it's natural to believe that all these patents will be applied
> > over here.
> > 
> > This morning, you (Dave McWilliams) were involved in a discussion which
> > decried the lack of technology R&D taking place in Ireland, and you sounded
> > supportive of the notion of providing tax breaks to companies who have R&D
> > budgets.
> > 
> > If software patents are introduced into Europe as proposed by Ireland, then
> > indigenous companies will not be able to perform R&D here as the burden of
> > managing what existing patents are being put to use will be far too great.
> > 
> > Perhaps you could ask Ms. Harney why she supports software patents, when
> > software is already perfectly protected by copyright, given that it will
> > certainly stifle R&D in small countries like Ireland. You could also ask her
> > how Europe can compete when the vast majority of software implementations
> > are already patented in the US by non-european companies, and that not a
> > single piece of software can be implemented without availing of a large
> > number of those patents.
> > 
> > Thanks, etc.
> > 
> > ?...and so on.
> > 
> > --
> > ?ibhear ? hAnluain
> > IFSO
> > Ireland.
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Public archive: https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/fsfe-ie
> > 
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Teresa Hackett
114 Cedar House
Mespil Estate, Sussex Road
Dublin 4, Ireland
Email: teresahackett at eircom.net
Mobile +353 87 6253768
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