Summary: New Zealand is still under threat from software patents, not just when they are formulated with the "device" trick

LAWYERS and multinationals in New Zealand have been attempting to legalise software patents over there and the HTML version of this new document suggests that "[s]oftware patents to get their way in New Zealand," says the FFII's president. To quote just one part:

20. The mere identification of any physical step or any physical element within claimed subject matter is not equivalent to a claim to a new principle as "an artificially created state of affairs" within the context of a "manner of manufacture". That is, the mere identification of the presence of any physical interaction in a claimed invention would not be sufficient to render something patentable if the contribution would not otherwise be patentable.

People of New Zealand should stay vigilant because companies like Microsoft plan an attack (extortion offence) against rivals and right now the laws are being changed around the world to make such an attack legally applicable. It's not different from what Hollywood does to copyright law, e.g. with DMCA. ⬆