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Patent Mess May Stifle Australian Software
gtoomey writes "Australian Open Source lawyer Brendan Scott is claiming the USA/Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will damage all Australian software development.
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald says that developers have probably built products which 'infringe' on U.S. software patents, while the FTA is forcing Australia to adopt DCMA laws."
One would think that the primary roadblock to software developemnt in Australia is the price of Net access and bandwidth. Isn't it ridiculously expensive there compared to North America?
www.kitchengeek.com -- Nosh for
Speaking of outsourcing, do the popular outsourcing countries such as India and China have similar restrictions? Or has a loophole been created to allow multinationals to "infringe" with impunity?
Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
I think that was somewhat the point of the article, the shitty software patent system in the US is effecting everyone else i the world.
The problem, at it's heart, I think, is the incongruence of technology and law. On the one hand, lawmakers don't understand technology well enough to write good laws, and on the other hand technology is such a broad topic and a fast moving target that even if there were a bunch of technologically savvy people in position to write technology laws, the way the system exists today by the time a law was written, passed and enacted the lawmakers would be 6 months behind on what needs to be done.
I think one of the major factors to this is that people both in and out of industry don't really understand how blazingly fast technology moves. While 10 years might be reasonable for a phsical invention, having ANYTHING locked up in patents in software is going to stifle innovation horribly.
I'm all for companies who invent new and great things in the world of software to be able to make money on it, they put in the work and they deserve it. But the reality is that software patents really don't seem to necessary. If I invent some super great algorithm and software based around it, and really do keep it a secret untill it's released in my product, by the time my competitors are able to churn out a competing product I already have mindshare and better damn well already be working on the next version of my software.
Of course the corperations won't be happy without a patent, and in some sence it's even justifiable to say that they are right to want some insurance that nobody else can rip off their idea, but if the lawmakers are going to get paid off to allow software patents, I think it should be for a maximum of 1 year. This gives them a head start as a reward for their work, but still allows innovation.
This all of course doesn't address the problem with junk patents, but at least it would go some way to minimizing the damage. I'd much rather we only have to wait for 1 year to be able to have applications which use double click or radio buttons than 10 years.
Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
As we all know software patents are an absolute must for innovation. After all we wouldn't have browser plugins, the double click, one click ordering from a web shop and multitasking if it wasn't for patents.
Yes, you heard right, there are patents floating around for these things.
On a seriouse note. Of course it will damage Australian IT. The only entities that profit from patents are big corporations with big patent portfolios. Now I don't claim to know a lot about the state of the Australien IT industry, but I doubt that there are many companies that can match the patent portfolios of say MS, IBM, or Apple.
Open source developers and not to forget small and medium sized businesses are allways the losers when it comes to software patents.
Make a small ghost company under a diff name in Shanghai just to fake that it was developed there, and use that as an 'outsourced' source contract company.
But the FTA is shortlived any way, the super uber great depression will happen after GWB gets re-elected, and then the US$ will freefall as everyone dumps it.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Yeah, I have to agree with you.
What bugs me is that I'm likely to vote for a National-ish goverment based on other non-software issues, despite knowing they'll sell out to the US on exactly these kinds of issues. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Labour-ish parties did as well, except they'd try to do it more quietly.
I really hate politics, it's always about which party's policies (and politicians) you dislike the least.
Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
This is something that has always irritated me. When people begin to discuss a "global market" inevitably these issues arise. If done correctly it can be a major benefit for everyone involved, if done badly it hurts all involved.
For some reason I have yet to see it done correctly (well, I know the reason - short term monetary gains - in the long run this hurts everyone involved). In each instance that another countries laws are cited, or they are "merged (so to speak), they take the *most* restrictive parts of each and implement that.
This isn't an "American vs Australian" issue (well, this particular battle is, but not the war). More than several of the laws passed in the US are done so because "some random country" does it. Even the DMCA was mostly an amalgam of the most restrictive parts of what other countries do. Once it was passed here other countries cite us. Eventually someone else will pass another DMCA amalgam (maybe the US, maybe not - others have done so just as regularly in the past) and we all "have" to follow along.
It is like a feedback loop. Country A passes the same thing as country B - but just a bit stricter. country B adds those in - but just a bit more. Repeat cycle along with blame the other country. Never mind that neither one *has* to pass a shitty law because someone else did. As long as they can passably blame someone else and get thier money they do not care.
I really wish a major country would stand up and say "screw you". I figure it will take a major economic or sociatal event to wake people up. As long as it doesn't impact them much few will care.
------- Sorry about the spelling, I suffer from two problems. Dyslexia makes it difficult to spell well, lazy makes it
AND we don't have a bill of rights either...
Funny that most people consider out democracy to be better than America's in terms of representing the people. Our gun crime rates are WAY lower per head, in fact I think all crime is way lower (probably because we have real welfare, health and education accessable to all). In fact, in many ways, before the neo-liberal reforms of the past few decades Australia was probably only suceeded by war-time britain in representing an ideal socialist state married with real democracy.
But now we have compromised a bit towards market capitalism and our economy is one of the strongest in the world. However, our social amenities have also erroded. It's about striking a balance really.
This is why so many aussies are worried about the FTA with the US. Not because we don't like you, it's just that american companies will use the FTA to change our local legislation re: culture, software, drug prices. So it's not a FTA, it's signing away some of our sovereignty, equalising with a society who's ideals we respect, but who's standard of living is below ours in so many ways.
America is a ghetto compared to Australia. I recently had medical problems, and with no insurance I saw a doctor about 10 times, got xrays, blood tests etc. etc. Didn't hand over a dime, no waiting in line, it just all worked... for free. I don't think you americans understand this. Got my university degree via a government loan which I pay back with no interest once I start earning over a certain threshhold. So it was free too until I get a job with it that earns a reasonable amount. If I never get that job, I don't have to pay it back. And if I can't find a job I get a reasonable set of benefits, straight away none of this 6 months before benefits stuff you americans have. And on top of this our economy is arguably stronger than that of America's.
WTF? you say. WTF indeed.
The basis of good policy is to not argue about ideology it is to look at other societies do and learn from them. Case studies of other societies should inform the policy process, but in your myopic vision america cannot see that the standard of living we have is far greater than theirs even if you guys have a tad more GDP per head.
This is why you should vote back in the democrats and get a real healthcare system. Your health, edcuation and welfare systems are the laughing stock of the western world. It was once said if you want to know the essence of a country you should look at how it treats it's poor.
Oh mighty america, how you are powerless.
The PBS schemes and other issues of the FTA in Australia have been beaten about so much, yet this issue seems to have gone under the radar in terms of newspapers and public discussion. Even labor has not tried to push this issue and has not even mentioned it. Clearly the FTA has some benefits but this DMCA stuff it enough to turn you off it. Why doesn't labor demand ammendments on this issue as well so as not to destroy any innovation in this country?
I ask myself what motivates the proponents of chapter 17 of the FTA. This is the chapter that seeks to extend the monopolies of patents and copyrights. By my understanding someone standing for free trade should be against increased regulation and monopoly and so against chapter 17. A paradox.
The best explanation I have come up with is that proponents of chapter 17 are not for free trade but are for private ownership. They are typically against public property and against increased regulation of property, as they believe those weaken private ownership. In the case of patents and copyright they are for increased regulation as they believe it strengthens private ownership.
Perhaps chapter 17 of the "Free Trade Agreement" is really a "Private Ownership Agreement"?
Chapter 17 of the FTA allows abstract ideas to be claimed as private property. We shouldn't be talking about whether chapter 17 of the FTA is good for free trade but whether ideas are property to be privately owned.
No idea is formed in isolation. Instead all ideas draw from those around and those who have gone before. It is impossible to have a non-social idea in that having ideas requires interaction with and inspiration by other people.
Witness the emphasis the scientific research community places on publishing ideas and establishing networks of collaboration.
Thomas Edison once said "Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration." The existing patent and copyright system allows the 99% perspiration to be protected. Chapter 17 of the FTA extends the monopoly to include the 1% inspiration, thus hampering innovation.
Pretty much our only hope is a general anti-American sentiment by our leftish government.
The real problem is that it's irrational anti-American sentiment. They don't dislike America for any specific reason; they dislike America because disliking America is what they do.
If they had a rational agenda against - for example - foolish patent laws and the DMCA, then I might support them, but they don't. (Same with the left here in Australia, and in Europe, and in America itself.)
But yes, wherever else your politicial leanings may take you, lobby against the DMCA as hard as you can. It's simply a lousy law.
Strongly dissagree there. The reason our current government is "anti-American" (it isn't really) is because of issues like Iraq, envronmental issues, human rights etc.
Unfortuantly copyright law etc. isn't one of the reasons. But there deffinitly are good reasons.
Our current prime minister was a protester of the Vietnam war. I think that says alot.
... to solve the software patent problems will require giving the patent greedy what they want to the point of it being obviously stagnating and of no use to them. While not allowing them any way out but to dump the whole thing.
For that is what they can understand. It is apparenytly beyond them to understand any scientific proof to the contrary of what they want.
I think that John Howard's government has been one of the worst things that has ever happened to Australian sovreignty. Even senior former diplomats and military personel have signed a petition accusing him of selling out Australia's independence to the USA, something which he consistently denies, but which is plenty obvious to a lot of people both in and outside of Australia.
First his undying support for the USA in Iraq against all advice, then his signing of the FTA, which will probably not improve Australia's economic position as much as it improves the USA's economic position, and which is one step of the way to making Australia economically dependent on the USA.
I hope the little bastard gets his arse kicked in the coming elections, whereupon he can go visit his former cronies Bush and Blair and reminisce about their glorious pasts as nation builders and great leaders in an old age home for the mentally unstable.