Drishmung - Slashdot User

Submission + - New Zealand set to prohibit software patents (iitp.org.nz)

Submitted by Drishmung on Wednesday May 08, 2013 @11:20PM

Drishmung writes: The New Zealand Commerce Minister Craig Foss today (9 May 2013) announced a significant change to the Patents Bill currently before parliament, replacing the earlier amendment with far clearer law and re-affirming that software really will be unpatentable in New Zealand.

An article on the Institute of IT Professionals web site by IT Lawyer Guy Burgess looks at the the bill and what it means, with reference to the law in other parts of the world such as the USA, Europe and Britain (which is slightly different from the EU situation).

Submission + - Federal patents judge thinks software patents good (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Drishmung on Sunday May 13, 2012 @11:43PM

Drishmung writes: Retired Judge Paul Michel, who served on the Federal Circuit 1988-2010---the court that opened the floodgates for software patents with a series of permissive decisions during the 1990s—thinks software patents are good. Yes, the patent system is flawed, but that means it should be fixed. Ars Technica have a thoughtful interview with him. Ars take: "If you care most about promoting innovation, offering carve-outs from the patent system to certain industries and technologies looks like a pragmatic solution to a serious problem. If you're emotionally invested in the success of patent law as such, then allowing certain industries to opt out looks like an admission of failure and a horrible hack."

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