Espoo/Otaniemi, 23.07.2004
Confusing term: "Intellectual Property"
Intellectual Property is an issue that doesn't exist
| Copyright | Patent |
|---|---|
| specific work, detail of expression | exclusive monopoly |
| automatic | issued by patent office, expensive.
New, useful, non obvious (IQ 80) |
| lasts forever | 20 years |
| copy only | absolute monopoly, no possibilty of double invention |
Patents are a lottery:
the focus is always put on the unlikely possibility that you win.
The other point of view is shown by the
danger of being pointed to by someone who says: "give me your money".
Secret developments: compress, using the LZW algorithm, published in a paper. gzip: happy end?
Problems with patents not issued yet, but
also pb with patents published.
Huge stack. Search for relevance: unreliable
Example: natural order recalculation in spreadsheets,
using topological sort - known as that since the 1960s.
Tortuous legal language
Australia: no use for patents for Australia, but pressure
Failing purpose to get inventions published
Read something you are not allowed to do?
Secret settlement Heckel - Apple
"I didn't know the scope of my protection"
1. other algorithm? example fft.
Efficiency, but also standards! LZW: mandated by Postscript
(only uncompress in fact).
gif - png (png's not gif): hard to get people to switch.
jpg currently on court.
Actually 2 patents on LZW, although not intended.
Patent offices try to please their customers, fast.
mpeg2 video: 42 standards (?)
Feature patented - downgrade.
Motto: Make programming safe.
Some patents so broad as unavoidable - e.g. public key encryption.
2. Pay a lot for it.
N.O.R: 5% price of every spreadsheet (what if 20 such patents?)
Cartels of companies sharing in fact their portfolios.
Avoiding problems with others = cross patenting.
IBM estimate: 10 times as much as the gain by licensing.
This is a measurement of the harm per use ratio!
Defensive patents.
Fallacies:
3. the dice were rolled years ago.
Qualcom defended and lost 13 million dollars.
Risk to lose before to get to the point where evaluation occurs.
Practically speaking, people don't try to know (extra penalty for knowing).
Walking in mined lands (mine fields)
Other fields but SW:
"Everybody got cancer, why not you?"
Stupid arguments:
Software is not protected - investments are (or are not).
24.09.2003 clear EU Parliament decision against software patents.
30000 SW patents already issued in Europe
(illegal, non enforceable),
out of which 70% owned by US ad Japanese companies.
Important time frame.
New vote in Parliament on revised council proposal during the autumn
2004.
Draft during the Irish presidency.
Whom to talk to?
Politicians accessible
Nokia small with respect to Microsoft or IBM
www.ffii.org
Amount of lawsuits in the US (Slashdot)
200000 patents
Acacia case: EPO566662 - won in court against some porno sites
(send movies over the web).
Electronic Frontier in Finland (EFF?)