Bonum Certa Men Certa

USPTO is Driving Away Businesses to Countries Like New Zealand, US-based Multinationals Attack New Zealand With Imperialistic Patent Lobbying to Assimilate Policies

The Empire Strikes Back

New York City skyline



Summary: Haven from absurd laws is offered by countries which are in turn being corrupted (through crooked oliticians and domestic partners) such that software patents are inescapable

A FEW years back, when the second-biggest financial collapse (in the past century) happened in the United States, a lot of Americans migrated to places like Australia and New Zealand. Amid the rise of Bush and the war he brought about, some people left the country in protest and moved to New Zealand, which is also where a former colleague of mine moved with his wife partly for idealogical reasons. If the goal is to drive away talented people (including veteran professors and immigrant students), then parts of the administration are doing a darn good job. For everyone else in the States this should be cause for concern and alarm because this puts in jeopardy the nation's status as a leader in innovation (marked by achievements from NASA for example). When patenting becomes a norm and patent trolls a fact of life, surely there is a deterrent that can suppress absorption of "real" scientists -- those interested in researching in peace. Colleagues in my field cannot obtain software patents, so they can only ever apply for such monopolies in the USPTO. And what for? We work for the Computer Science department that is ranked 15th in the world and patents were not needed to get there at all. In fact, ranks do suggest that for researchers, the United States becomes a less desirable vocation. To what extent has the USPTO been responsible for this? It is hard to reliably measure this because, as stated earlier, it's a multi-factor/factered problem which includes debt, militarism, competitive trends (notably the rise of the Far East), and even the network effect that drives Nobel prize winners to countries where they are better funded (which in turn takes their research groups to those other countries). Software patents can truly depress a field and limit one's freedom of exploration. Who on Earth would engage in this practice of self-punishing by bringing legitimacy to software patents? As Dr. Richard Stallman explained a few years back, Europeans should repeal and repel any attempts to legalise software patents because it puts Europe in a considerable advantage over the neighbours across the Atlantic (consider the European developer who was safe from Shazam's software patent bullying [1, 2]). Needless to say, if the US lobby manages to turn the EU into a hub of software patents, e.g. via the unitary patent, then it instantaneously belittles Europe, which has almost no software patents and thus "starts behind", so to speak. Replace "EU" with "New Zealand (NZ)", "China", "India", "South Africa" and so on, then realise that the same applies to all of those countries, where American multinationals assisted by their government (which they fund through campaign contributions) are trying to corrupt through selected politicians -- some of whom we named here before -- so as to enslave foreign populations by the "IP" arm and the lawsuits boot. Treaties can usher bullying, even if the bullying is silent and often blamed on illusionary culprits. Too political? Fine. Get used to it, as that's how patent policies are set in stone. It's not about technical merit but about those who lean to the green (money).



With that long introduction aside, we shall turn our attention to the southern hemisphere. NZ is having the same problems Europe is having at the moment and there is this new "Podcast on software patents legislation in New Zealand" (links directly to a software patents-encumbered file, ironically enough). Well, the file is an MP3, so for the sake of those without MPEG-LA patent licences we have made an Ogg version (direct link) and we hope someone can transcribe.



“Over and over this island nation has proven a rational understanding of innovation in software as something that can and should be copyrighted but not patented.”
      --ClearFoundation
NZ is reaping the benefit of Free/open source advocacy groups like NZOSS (which recently drove away Microsoft software patents [1, 2], as still reported by the neighbours in Australia too) and the general policy in this large island, which is admirably hostile towards software patents. In our NZ/kiwi software patents wiki we provide some chronological background for the uninitiated and we are routinely getting some gratifying feedback from readers based in NZ. Just yesterday, Aaron Bylund, writing to me in Twitter, explained "[w]hy ClearFoundation (non-profit entity supporting ClearOS) is incorporated in New Zealand." He is going to connect us with the ClearFoundation. He links to this post which says: "As our involvement with the Clarkconnect team grew tighter and tighter, we realized that to protect something that is fundamentally protected by copyright alone (as it should be) we needed to keep it safe and untainted. In our search we considered some great places like Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore and even the Principality of Hutt River. In the end we decided on New Zealand. Over and over this island nation has proven a rational understanding of innovation in software as something that can and should be copyrighted but not patented. Additionally, it grants freedoms to businesses better than nearly any other nation. So, we give a shout out today and cheer to New Zealand. Let those that would seek to implement software patents there join the ranks of those that have decided to back down. Long live New Zealand, home of ClearFoundation! Hip Hip Huzzah! And thank you NZOSS and NZCS for all your hard work."

Well, yesterday we explained Microsoft's lobbying for software patents as a FUD weapon against Linux and Android and based on this good NZ-based source Microsoft is angry and its executives are not even hiding it. Quoting the article at hand:

The Government may need to go back to the drawing board over the way software patents will be treated under its proposed Patents Bill, after guidelines drawn up by officials to safeguard hi-tech manufacturers were slated by legal experts.

Parliamentarians delighted the open-source software movement and troubled large corporates such as Microsoft last year by including a clause in the Patents Bill that says software is not a patentable invention.

Microsoft New Zealand legal counsel Waldo Kuipers hoped dissatisfaction with the separate guidelines, which are designed to accompany the legislation and address the specific issue of embedded software, would open the door to a fundamental rethink.

A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Simon Power said he had received advice from the Economic Development Ministry, but it was too early to say whether the Government would consider amending the Patents Bill, which is currently awaiting its second reading.

Critics of software patents have argued they have mainly been used to lay claim to rights over obvious ideas or to extort money, creating a nuisance and stifling innovation.


Intel too is named there by the BusinessDay.co.nz reporter, Tom Pullar-Strecker. He 'forgets' to mention who NZICT actually serves (it's a lobbying group for the likes of Microsoft, pretending to stand up for "NZ" for extra credibility) and there is also the Institute of Patent Attorneys. No need to tell the expected bias there, right? None of these is interested in the interests of NZ but only in profit, usually for some billionaires abroad (lawyers too need them as clients).

"Do not listen to US-based multinationals, who are willing to lie for their own wallet."If Mirosoft is dissatisfied, then it means that it is good for software freedom and for the freedom of the population in NZ. Do not listen to US-based multinationals, who are willing to lie for their own wallet. It's their obligation to their mostly American shareholders. For example, Intel participating in this FUD and it should be disgraced for this. In another article from NZ (this time from IDG, which is based in the US), there is a complaint about the current NZ patent policy. It says: "Most submissions on the guidelines formulated by the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) on patentability of software suggest the guidelines have not achieved the desired clarification of proposed legislation and may have served further to muddy the question of what software is or is not patentable.

"Section 15 (3A) of the Patents Bill – currently awaiting its second reading in Parliament – simply states “a computer program is not a patentable invention”. This clause was inserted by the Commerce Select Committee, on the strength of a number of submissions."

"Show us the way, NZ, and prove to the world that even small nations can stand up to multi-trillion-dollar (aggregated market cap) coercion machines that grease up politicians and retaliate against critics."Well, loopholes using the "embedded" or "device" trick, companies like Microsoft can probably get around the law (hacking it), just as they do in Europe already (no hacking "as such"), IDG seems to be missing this important point, but then again, it's IDG, so don't take it too seriously. It's the Fox 'News' of IT.

All in all, the press in NZ usually gives a lesson to the US-based press, which hardly does enough (if anything) to oppose the bad laws that permit software patenting. The watchdog press is dead there, as we noted several days ago in relation to US coverage on software patents (too conformist, too obedient to existing law and afraid to challenge them). Show us the way, NZ, and prove to the world that even small nations can stand up to multi-trillion-dollar (aggregated market cap) coercion machines that grease up politicians and retaliate against critics.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
This Saturday It's Gonna be 3.5 Years* Since Russia Invaded Ukraine. No Microsoft Protests Against Microsoft Having Provided Russia With Services.
Companies do not have consistent policies and enforcement of "corporate values" is somewhat of an egg salad
 
Links 23/08/2025: onmicrosoft.com as Spam Cannon, The Cheeto-Intel Deal Is Official
Links for the day
Wired Complained About LLM Slop Only Days Before It Got Caught Doing That Itself
Never throw stones in a glass house
IBM "Value" Down 14.16% in a Month, Red Hat Layoffs Allegedly Discussed 12 Days Ago
"IBM is a dinosaur. Dinosaurs get extinct when the don't keep up."
We're Seeing More Countries Where Windows Isn't Even in Second Place Anymore (Third or Worse)
In a way, Microsoft can barely even hold onto second place anymore
The US Government is Now in the Business (Literally!) of Saving Microsoft and Intel
This means that President TACO/Cheeto now has grater financial incentive to also prop up Microsoft and Windows
Microsoft Workers on Canonical's Payroll
If you want something that's sort of like Ubuntu but is not controlled by Canonical, then look into Linux Mint, Debian, or LMDE
GNU/Linux Climbs to 4% in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone isn't a very rich country (to say the least), but it's better off than some of its neighbours
The SLAPPS Run Out of Oxygen Because They're Abuse of Process
At the end of the day we plan to publish over 1,000 articles explaining what happened
The Register MS Gets Paid by the Employer of the Previous Editor in Chief to Promote the "AI" Ponzi Scheme, Which Does Considerable Damage to the Web and to Online Journalists
The Register MS can 'badmouth' slop all it wants; it gets paid to inflate this bubble. It's actively participating in it.
Soon It'll be Autumn, Time to Repair Things
Where they don't charge an arm and a leg
Doing Our Best to Cover Software Patents When the Mainstream Media Does Not
Even the FSF has its limits
Gemini Links 23/08/2025: August Questions and Network Solutions
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 22, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 22, 2025
Microsoft Has Issues in Guyana
It's not just Guyana
About 25% of the "Linux" News/Results in Google News Today Are LLM Slop, Almost 20% From the Same Rogue Operators of Slopfarms
Google, which tries to market itself as an LLM giant, apparently fails to understand what's wrong with it
Harassing People on Holiday
There are "no-go areas"; but that assumes all laws firms have ethical standards
The Great, Undeniable Value of Paper Trail, Not Purely Digital Systems
Suppose you have nothing but bits on someone else's computer and "word of mouth"...
The Company Behind Ars Technica, Reddit and Wired Caught Publishing LLM Slop (It Also Admits It Now)
Condé Nast busted
Links 22/08/2025: Lagrange 1.18.8, Wired Magazine and Business Insider Caught Resorting to LLM Slop
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Sites Gone Rogue, Google Promoting Lies, and DDoS Attacks by Plagiarism Giants
Charlatans and frauds engage in a war against artistic industries, mislabeling plagiarism as "AI"
Links 22/08/2025: Cisco Layoffs, LA Times Says "AI Hype is Fading Fast"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/08/2025: K for Kentucky and Caddy Versus LLM Slopbots
Links for the day
The "End Software Patents" Initiative of the FSF Explains "WHY [to] ABOLISH SOFTWARE PATENTS"
We hope to cover patent-related issues more and more as the big anniversary of the FSF approaches
Freenode Sniffing
The grown-ups left the building
The Only Thing Worse Than Misinformation is Misinformation Sold to Everyone as "Intelligence"
Misplaced trust is worse than none at all
The Register MS Now Openly Admits LLM Hype Does Damage, But It's Also Being Paid to Participate in the LLM Hype (With Paid 'Articles' and 'Webcasts' for Paying Advertisers)
The Register MS gets paid to do this
End of the Smartphone Era? No.
Maybe the media should focus on producing accurate, factual news
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 21, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 21, 2025
Enshittification of Airports, Airlines, and Airplanes
If people are willing to tolerate standard declines and enshittification (nowadays sold as "pivot to AI" or "replaced by AI" or "AI layoffs") they will pay for it some other way
Latest Is Not Greatest: The Case of "Foldable" Tech
don't be shamed into abandoning old things just because the "fashion industry" of Apple and Samsung tells you to
Airlines and Their Tricks That Only Work in the 'Digital Age'
People sceptical of the direction technology has taken are not "Luddites"
Open Source Initiative (OSI), Which Became a Propaganda Front of Microsoft and "Hey Hi" (Hype, Misnomer), Wants You to Forget These Scandals
A lot of these issues won't be set aside until there's a resolution
The Culture of Overnight Coding
An industry-wise push-back is needed
Windows Down to New Lows in Guinea Bissau and Many Countries Around It
If Android is accounted for, Windows is down to about 10%
Gemini Links 21/08/2025: Modern Dating, Debian 13, and Apache
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Had About 10 Waves of Mass Layoffs So Far This Year (Not Two as Mainstream Media and Slopfarms Endlessly Claim)
Notice how the MSM (Mainstream Media) never mentions the debt of Microsoft. It is a conscious, deliberate decision.
Links 21/08/2025: Covid Cases on the Rise, "Social Media Trolls", Russia's Attacks Intensify
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/08/2025: The Attraction of Back Alleys, Initramfs, and BSD ISPs
Links for the day
Links 21/08/2025: Stephanie Shirley Dies and "Groklaw Domain Hijacked?"
Links for the day
Search in 2025 (Age of DDoS Attacks Under the Guise of "AI" "Innovation")
One common concern when things go "live" is that any random bot out there can execute queries, pumping up RAM and CPU usage, as happened when we used MediaWiki and WordPress
Using Slop for Images Does Not Make Your Site Look Advanced or Witty, It Just Makes Your Whole Work Look Like Presumed Plagiarism
Lazy slobs and Serial Sloppers use the guise/excuse of "AI" to plagiarise and spam the Web
Financing of the "Hey Hi" (AI) Bubble by Those Who Profit From Planetary Destruction (Global Warming)
It's about personal gain, too
Richard Stallman Will Speak in Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress
it's good to see that the FSF pays considerable respect to it founder, who is moreover invited to speak at events
(At Least) Second Wave of Mass Layoffs in Microsoft This Month
This is not the first time this month that Microsoft has mass layoffs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 20, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 20, 2025