RE: [AD] legal stuff: patents

[Vincent Penquerc'h <Vincent.Penquerch@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> Do you have done any attempts to protect us from software patents ?
> 
> Upon your adress, I assume, you're sitting in the UK.

I confess :)

> You should probably know, that in Europe Software Patents are
> illegal (but nevertheless > 30.000 of them - mostly very trivial and 
> broad have been granted - against the law). Now the European 
> Commission, 

I do, but some people are above the law. Or, rather, above the
application of the law. It's been years since those patents were
accepted.

> more concrete: some people around Arlene McCarthy - British Labour (!)
> are doing very strong efforts for legalizing those illegal 
> software patents.

I know, I've seen her ravings, and rms' rebuff.
I'm afraid there isn't much that can be done apart from sending a
large petition to the parliament. But that has little influence
when paid lobbyists from large companies are here every day to,
er, sing their views to the MEPs. And throw company paid "work
seminaries" in far away tropical islands. I've added my name to
the list a while ago, but I doubt it can change anything.
Yes, I know there is some money devoted to lobbying against
patents too, but it is both not enough compared to the opposite
side, and a fall in the Dark Side, which acknowledges that a
democracy is just a disguised market.

There are other means, like pseudonymous submissions and non
centralized repositories. Though that's worst case.

> We need every little help to prevent the disaster of software patents
> from Europa.

Anyway, that reminds me I have to find the email of a few people
to tell them about how software patents will make me lose my
job and crash the economy, if you'll excuse me :)
(not that they often read emails, but, who knows, maybe staff
compile a running tally of these emails....)

-- 
Vincent Penquerc'h