Comments on: European Commission Plans to Allow Patent Imperialism, Authorises Microsoft’s Attack on Free Software

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:04:08 +0000

Right now he works with Monty on the MySQL situation.

By: Jose_X

Jose_X — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:41:31 +0000

The community patent might end up being a weak(er) law or it might not.

I think the lesson to be learned is that this is a constant battle.

What we have to show is that the more time passes, the more people dislike patents and associate the monopolies with an abuse of power, an infringement on people’s rights, a decrease in competition and in innovation, an increase in costs, a consolidation of power, etc.

[I posted this the other day: http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2009/12/predicted-2009-patent-application-filings.html?cid=6a00d8341c588553ef0128765f242c970c#comment-6a00d8341c588553ef0128765f242c970c ]

By: Jose_X

Jose_X — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:22:38 +0000

I hope this comment is not taken as disrespectful. Here is a link http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/about/founder.html

>> Mr. Müller asked us to mention that he views those awards and honors as “a recognition of what our overall resistance movement achieved”. He stresses that he owes his nominations “to all activists and citizens who supported our cause, especially to the FFII (Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure)”.

What I am saying is that I worry that giving the award (directly or indirectly) was a way to make concession (tip hat) to a worthy foe but ultimately not give in.

By: Jose_X

Jose_X — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:19:03 +0000

I thought it was bad news when the FFII guy (sorry, don’t remember name) got that award. I think it was their way of getting rid of him while smiling for the cameras (let him have his moment in the spotlight while we get some votes of approval, they likely thought).

By: Jose_X

Jose_X — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:17:03 +0000

We need to market patent problems much louder so that ordinary people realize their losses and petition their representatives.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:43:30 +0000

Don’t you just repeat the point he made?

By: Needs Sunlight

Needs Sunlight — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:15:25 +0000

The quote from Marco Schulze is great but it misses the larger group at risk: small and medium sized companies. If the issue were copyright, then the quote would be spot-on. However, the issue is usage of software, that’s what patents are about: usage. So the phrasing should be unquoted and corrected to take into account the real scope of the threat:

“Small companies cannot afford to go to court or pay damages. Who is this software patent system for?”

By: Needs Sunlight

Needs Sunlight — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:12:45 +0000

As for Matt being out of touch, his background includes Novell. No telling what’s up with him now but a bad start like that in his career isn’t going to turn around slowly.