New Zealand Sort Of Bans Software Patents After Years Of Back And Forth
from the now-we'll-see-how-it-goes dept
Over the years (and years and years) we've covered how the New Zealand government had decided to ban software patents only to flip-flop once the lobbyists for big software companies got involved. Since then there's been lots of back and forth fighting, leading to another attempt to ban software patents, which has finally passed. Of course, as we noted earlier this year, while the intentions appear to be good, some of the language in the bill may open some loopholes, so we'll be interested to see how the bill is actually interpreted, and what happens within the actual tech sector -- but at the very least, this seems like it will be a worthwhile experiment to monitor, especially for those who insist that it's "impossible" to outlaw software patents.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: new zealand, patents, software patents
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
Anyhoo, as usual, you don't venture an opinion or hope, so no one knows whether you'll be disappointed or wrong! I bet even NSA doesn't have Mystery Mike's opinions.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
Integer ipsum elit, dictum eget aliquet et, tristique vitae turpis. Curabitur aliquam sagittis porta. Donec facilisis, magna id malesuada tempor, purus odio molestie neque, non rhoncus justo orci et ipsum. Nullam ac pharetra leo. Vivamus condimentum turpis eu mi auctor, nec dictum ante pretium. Maecenas imperdiet diam vestibulum nisl rhoncus, ac viverra nisi fringilla. Nullam lacus nunc, lobortis ac molestie ullamcorper, ultrices sit amet diam. Aliquam quis sodales quam.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
Were you trying to expand on your initial post, and just got locked into some shill/troll incomprehensible nexus?
Shit Nexus -- that's Google something in't it, in't it!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
2. Google translate Latin to English
3. ???
4. WHAT
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
Get over it and stop feeding the troll.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
* (and yes, I know Google is awful with Latin)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
I was just trying to make a sarcastic comment on OOBS's original post.
Stupid of me to even bother.
This lame asshole troll, looking to be a shill seems to have sucked almost everyone on the site to comment on his inane trolling posts. That includes me of course, but this is the last time!
From some of OOTB's comments and the post tag lines, I would suspect he suffers from some sort of bipolar disorder, that is being fed by the responses on the site.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
ummm, Mike said:
"...but at the very least, this seems like it will be a worthwhile experiment to monitor, especially for those who insist that it's "impossible" to outlaw software patents."
..that looks like an opinion to me.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
As for the ones replying to ootb: this is precisely the type of comment that should be reported and ignored.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: An amazing 4 links in 43 words! True, 3 are self-links...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
more dissembling by Masnick
In Federalist No. 43, James Madison wrote regarding constitutional rights of inventors, "The utility of the clause will scarcely be questioned. The copyright of authors has been solemnly adjudged, in Great Britain, to be a right of common law. The right to useful inventions seems with equal reason to belong to the inventors. The public good fully coincides in both cases with the claims of the individuals."
Do you know how to make a Stradivarius violin? Neither does anyone else. Why? There was no protection for creations in his day so he like everyone else protected their creations by keeping them secret. Civilization has lost countless creations and discoveries over the ages for the same reason. Think we should get rid of or weaken patent rights? Think again.
Most important for America is what the patent system does for America’s economy. Our founders: Jefferson, Franklin, Madison and others felt so strongly about the rights of inventors that they included inventors rights to their creations and discoveries in the Constitution. They understood the trade off. Inventors are given a limited monopoly and in turn society gets the benefits of their inventions (telephone, computer, airplane, automobile, lighting, etc) into perpetuity and the jobs the commercialization of those inventions bring. For 200 years the patent system has not only fueled the American economy, but the world’s. If we weaken the patent system we force inventors underground like Stradivarius and in turn weaken our economy and job creation. For a robust economy America depends on a strong patent system accessible to all -large and small, not the watered down weak system the large multinationals and China are foisting on America.
For the truth, please see http://www.truereform.piausa.org/
https://www.facebook.com/pi.ausa.5
http://piausa.wordpress.com/
http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/142741
http://cpip.gmu.edu/2013/03/15/t he-shield-act-when-bad-economic-studies-make-bad-laws/
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: more dissembling by Masnick
I think patents are good in concept, for the very reasons you cite here, and don't advocate getting rid of them. However, the patent system as it exists in the US right now is broken and does not accomplish the goals that we both agree on, at least in some broad swaths of technology (such as software).
Patent reform is essential to make patents useful again. This could be called "weakening" in the sense of dialing them back from their corrupt state now, but I think it's more fair to call it "correcting".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: more dissembling by Masnick
1. The patent system has absolutely no standard that inventions be reproducible from filings. Many patents, especially method patents and software patents, don't serve the purpose you've outlined. So your argument there is actually in favor of removing patents on software since they would be useless for such a purpose.
2. The constitution does not include 'inventors rights' at all. It empowers congress to secure rights as it sees fit to promote the progress. Contrast this with cases where rights are actually included, like the first amendment, which are explicitly crafted as a recognition of exist rights that exist independent of purpose.
3. I'd love to see your evidence that the patent system fueled anything and, by extension, your evidence that any weakening of the patent system would lead to weakening 'our economy and job creation.'
4. Large multinationals are weakening the patent system!? Could have fooled me...
5. Your ludicrous link opens with 'junk patents are never used in litigation' which is demonstrably false as even a cursory glance around various industries for patent trolling will show. It goes on to even more ludicrously claim that all claims of trolling are a 'hoax.' I guess we all just imagined bullshit like IV or SCO or Lodsys etc ad nauseum. Perversely it claims all this is pursuant to making sure the little guy has a fair playing field with large industry players. Truth? What a joke.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: more dissembling by Masnick
[ link to this | view in thread ]