[Linux-aus] Re: Software patents: Munich has put Linux project on hold!

[Anthony Towns]

On Fri, Aug 06, 2004 at 03:01:03PM +1000, pia at linux.org.au wrote:
> Anthony Towns writes:
> >Uh, no. The Digital Agenda Act's full title was "Copyright Amendment
> >(Digital Agenda)" -- it affected copyright, not patents. It was introduced
> >in the late '90s, passed in 2000, and came into effect in 2001.
> :) In the same way that the DMCA  only deals with copyright? 

Yes.

> >See http://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_1-2_1-4_15595,00.html for some
> >real concerns related to the Digital Agenda issues.
> Thanks for the link, the link also reinforces that the DAA dealt with more 
> that just copyright. It dealt with anti-circumvention and other issues.

And moral rights and reverse engineering. All of which are copyright
issues. As opposed to patents, trademarks or trade secrets, for example.

> >This is misleading and incorrect, and serves no purpose except as FUD.
> I will check this out, but have read in several places (including from the 
> Senate Enquiry ctte themselves) that the DAA review will assist in dealing 
> with the AUSFTA.

The FTA deals with many of the same copyright issues addressed by the
Digital Agenda review, yes. At least one of the recommendations from the
review is included in the implementing legislation that we've already
seen, eg.

> We still have lessons to learn from the DAA excerise, and 
> further recommendations that needed implementation testing. 
> Under the FTA we lose a great deal of control over these laws, 

It's rather embarrassing to watch someone pontificate on IP when they
don't have a handle on the difference between patents and copyright.

> If something tilts in their favour, what chance do we have of reversing it? 

If we so decide, we can break the agreement whenever we like; we merely
lose all the benefits from what the US has agreed to.

Cheers,
aj

-- 
Anthony Towns <aj at humbug.org.au> <http://azure.humbug.org.au/~aj/>
Don't assume I speak for anyone but myself. GPG signed mail preferred.

``Like the ski resort of girls looking for husbands and husbands looking
  for girls, the situation is not as symmetrical as it might seem.''
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