William Hill (a UK betting firm) tried and failed to do this by offshoring their servers in Bermuda (IIRC) and processing UK customers' betting transactions there. "Importing" (a.k.a., using a network such as the Internet) a patent is still technically an infringement.
1. Follow the Latest News at http://ffii.org (it tends to be the first place news comes out and is comprehensive).
2. Sign the various petitons (e.g., Thank Poland).
3. Lobby your own MP and MEP (spamming all MPs / MEPs is likely to get you ignored).
4. Write to the media with your concerns (e.g., the UK is thinking about a Computer Tax to replace TV licensing - front page Times last week. Can the Software Patents "Software Tax" make the front page too?)
Let's take the Council Presidency to the European Court of Justice then for refusing the request for a B-Item when it doesn't have the authority to make such a refusal.
Can I take a case to the ECJ?
Perhaps surprisingly, private individuals are also allowed to bring proceedings to the Court to have an EU law annulled if it affects them directly and individually. This can't be done lightly of frivolously and the individual needs to have legal representation. But they do not need to go through their national courts first to bring proceedings to the ECJ.
What is the European Court of Justice?
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) deals with disputes and upholds the Treaties of the European Union. Its job is to ensure that European law is uniformly interpreted and applied throughout the Union. It has jurisdiction in disputes involving Member States, EU institutions, businesses and individuals. It sits in Luxembourg and is composed of 15 judges, one judge from each Member State.
In addition, there are eight Advocate Generals whose role is to present publicly and impartially reasoned opinions on the cases brought before the Court. France and Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom each appoint one of them, the others being appointed on a rotation basis from the rest of the member states.
To be appointed, the Judges and Advocate Generals must either be highly qualified academic lawyers (known in the European jargon as "jurisconsults"), or be High Court or Appeal judges in their own jurisdictions. They are appointed by joint agreement of the Governments of the Member States and have a renewable term of six years.
Their independence must be beyond doubt. Once appointed, they are not allowed to hold any other office of an administrative or political nature, indeed, they can't be involved in any occupation, paid or unpaid.
The populations of all of the EU's 25 member states have to agree to the constitution via referendum for it to be enacted - even the EU-hating UK (the people that is, not the government). Let's nuke 'em!
That's fine as far as development is concerned, but of course any customer who uses your software can be sued for patent infringement as well. So who's going to use it?
Compare file sharing of music where here in the UK, the British Phonographic Institution has just successfully sued individual UK Internet users for up to £4,500.
Yes. The European Parliament has the power to dismiss the entire Commission en masse (i.e., not just individual members).
Hopefully, as the European Parliament is also repsonsible for oversight of the Commission, they will investigate the recent allegations of collusion between Commission President Barroso and Microsoft made by Austrian MEP Dr. Maria Berger and take appropriate action.
One aspect of the whole patent debate that we seem not to discuss much are the different types of infringement. The one that gets me is "imported". i.e., apart from making, using etc. we also have importing.If importing is interpreted as downloading (IANAL) then the scary predictions depicted above are even worse!
The following is from http://burdicklawfirm.tripod.com/pinfrng.htm where thay also list defences against accusations of infringment.
1. Direct Infringement (the accused party makes, uses or sells an infringing item.)
2. Contributory Infringement (the accused party was aiding or abetting infringement);
Providing manufacturing equipment specially known to be designed to produce infringing product;
Producing a portion of the patented invention which has no significant non-infringing use; or
Deliberately facilitating production of a patented invention .
3. Inducing Infringement (the accused party was luring others into infringement);
4.Imputed Infringement (the accused party did something the law implies to be infringement)
Importing, selling or using a product made abroad through a process which would have infringed a US process patent if made in the USA; or
Manufacturing or selling certain components of a patented invention to be assembled abroad.
In Cumbria in the UK, we've had severe (for the UK that is) flooding and high winds this week.
No mains power. Phone landlines are out. Transport virtually zero. Many mobile devices have been drowned. Those that haven't are getting their batteries drained as call volumes are, perhaps, 100 times normal call levels as everyone tries to phone everyone else through jammed switchboards. No mains power = no recharge.
The lucky few who can get through to the local radio station (BBC Cumbria - who are doing a great job btw) can get a request sequentially broadcast to everyone (on air / on the Beeb's site).
I've set up a blog and suggested we use a specific IRC channel, but it's chicken and egg getting this information to the undeterminable set of people who still have working connectivity. Of course if we'd agreed where to meet online prior to events (or if the radio would announce it as I've requested)...we'd have a blog + channel with hundreds of people who could relay information from / to others nearby in a much more network efficient manner.
As it is, it's only the selfless spirit of community with everyone mucking in that's holding back the tide.
Slashdot Mirror
William Hill (a UK betting firm) tried and failed to do this by offshoring their servers in Bermuda (IIRC) and processing UK customers' betting transactions there. "Importing" (a.k.a., using a network such as the Internet) a patent is still technically an infringement.
And if you can't afford the damages? What happens then? Can you be jailed?
Perhaps a holiday in Guantanamo is just what we need to escape the torture this issue is causing.
Unless you're talking to the Chinese who'll just create a new "FVD" format and not pay you any royalties.
Err, except for the court case over the Ichitaro wordprocessor (a.k.a., the "help icon" patent case).
It's already happened. Spain voted yes.
1. Follow the Latest News at http://ffii.org (it tends to be the first place news comes out and is comprehensive).
2. Sign the various petitons (e.g., Thank Poland).
3. Lobby your own MP and MEP (spamming all MPs / MEPs is likely to get you ignored).
4. Write to the media with your concerns (e.g., the UK is thinking about a Computer Tax to replace TV licensing - front page Times last week. Can the Software Patents "Software Tax" make the front page too?)
Let's take the Council Presidency to the European Court of Justice then for refusing the request for a B-Item when it doesn't have the authority to make such a refusal.
Can I take a case to the ECJ?
Perhaps surprisingly, private individuals are also allowed to bring proceedings to the Court to have an EU law annulled if it affects them directly and individually. This can't be done lightly of frivolously and the individual needs to have legal representation. But they do not need to go through their national courts first to bring proceedings to the ECJ.
What is the European Court of Justice?
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) deals with disputes and upholds the Treaties of the European Union. Its job is to ensure that European law is uniformly interpreted and applied throughout the Union. It has jurisdiction in disputes involving Member States, EU institutions, businesses and individuals. It sits in Luxembourg and is composed of 15 judges, one judge from each Member State.
In addition, there are eight Advocate Generals whose role is to present publicly and impartially reasoned opinions on the cases brought before the Court. France and Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom each appoint one of them, the others being appointed on a rotation basis from the rest of the member states.
To be appointed, the Judges and Advocate Generals must either be highly qualified academic lawyers (known in the European jargon as "jurisconsults"), or be High Court or Appeal judges in their own jurisdictions. They are appointed by joint agreement of the Governments of the Member States and have a renewable term of six years.
Their independence must be beyond doubt. Once appointed, they are not allowed to hold any other office of an administrative or political nature, indeed, they can't be involved in any occupation, paid or unpaid.
The populations of all of the EU's 25 member states have to agree to the constitution via referendum for it to be enacted - even the EU-hating UK (the people that is, not the government). Let's nuke 'em!
That's fine as far as development is concerned, but of course any customer who uses your software can be sued for patent infringement as well. So who's going to use it? Compare file sharing of music where here in the UK, the British Phonographic Institution has just successfully sued individual UK Internet users for up to £4,500.
Yes. The European Parliament has the power to dismiss the entire Commission en masse (i.e., not just individual members).
Hopefully, as the European Parliament is also repsonsible for oversight of the Commission, they will investigate the recent allegations of collusion between Commission President Barroso and Microsoft made by Austrian MEP Dr. Maria Berger and take appropriate action.
Why not just carry out a "mad cow"-style cull of accountants (and lawyers too just to on the safe side)? Problem solved.
Surely a quick kernel recompile would fix it? ;-)
One aspect of the whole patent debate that we seem not to discuss much are the different types of infringement. The one that gets me is "imported". i.e., apart from making, using etc. we also have importing.If importing is interpreted as downloading (IANAL) then the scary predictions depicted above are even worse! The following is from http://burdicklawfirm.tripod.com/pinfrng.htm where thay also list defences against accusations of infringment. 1. Direct Infringement (the accused party makes, uses or sells an infringing item.) 2. Contributory Infringement (the accused party was aiding or abetting infringement); Providing manufacturing equipment specially known to be designed to produce infringing product; Producing a portion of the patented invention which has no significant non-infringing use; or Deliberately facilitating production of a patented invention . 3. Inducing Infringement (the accused party was luring others into infringement); 4.Imputed Infringement (the accused party did something the law implies to be infringement) Importing, selling or using a product made abroad through a process which would have infringed a US process patent if made in the USA; or Manufacturing or selling certain components of a patented invention to be assembled abroad.
So if I create code using two IBM patents, one that is "in the 500" and another that isn't, will IBM defend me from being attacked by IBM?
In Cumbria in the UK, we've had severe (for the UK that is) flooding and high winds this week.
No mains power. Phone landlines are out. Transport virtually zero. Many mobile devices have been drowned. Those that haven't are getting their batteries drained as call volumes are, perhaps, 100 times normal call levels as everyone tries to phone everyone else through jammed switchboards. No mains power = no recharge.
The lucky few who can get through to the local radio station (BBC Cumbria - who are doing a great job btw) can get a request sequentially broadcast to everyone (on air / on the Beeb's site).
I've set up a blog and suggested we use a specific IRC channel, but it's chicken and egg getting this information to the undeterminable set of people who still have working connectivity. Of course if we'd agreed where to meet online prior to events (or if the radio would announce it as I've requested)...we'd have a blog + channel with hundreds of people who could relay information from / to others nearby in a much more network efficient manner. As it is, it's only the selfless spirit of community with everyone mucking in that's holding back the tide.