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Patent Nonsense
ziriyab writes: "This article from The Guardian, after a few paragraphs of corporation bashing, gives an interesting history of two countries (Switzerland and the Netherlands) who flourished without IP laws. The article, while not necessarily suggesting that the abandonment of patent protection is an essential precondition for development, seems to indicate that it can, in the right circumstances, be an effective tool."
looks like someone got prior art.
are they advocating the abandonment of copyright laws? This is stupid. People will not develop proprietary software if there is no way to make money off of it.
Linux works, but try selling software to commercial firms that don't have to abide by copyright. 1 per world software purchases.
I'm a concientious
According to the article, Switzerland didn't have patent laws until 1907.
According to A.E.s biography [st-and.ac.uk] he worked at the patent office from 1902 to 1909..
Any swiss IP historians around who can elucidate?
It doesn't matter, according to Ae. All time is relative.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
Reminds me of this quote:
"Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than
dolphins because he had achieved so much... the wheel, New York,
wars, and so on, whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck
about in the water having a good time. But conversely the
dolphins believed themselves to be more intelligent than man for
precisely the same reasons."
It's not the banking system, but the currency that's important.
The banks are the ones that get the interest; the Swiss government is the one that gets income tax from the banks. So, yes, it is the banking system that's important, since they can always support another currency.