Patents, Intellectual Property and our future
From What The Wiki?!
We are here enjoing our time at WTH05. But can we be sure that we don't violate patents by that? Can we be sure that we aren't sued for violating several patents on setting up and using tents for lectures, installing smaller for living and gathering together at the conference site?
It sounds unbelievable, but as anybody who runs a webshop (see figure below) has to deal with and can violate at least 23 software patents it is likely that there exist patents which are violated by the fact that WTH05 happens and that people gather at 'Landgoed Velder, Velderseweg 23, 5298 LE Liempde, The Netherlands.
Thus, what are the alternatives? The most promissing is Copyright although the rule that it last till 70 years after the author died has to be shortened or abandoned. Although nearly unnoticed by the public that the European Parliament rejected the software patents directive on July the 6th 2005 it is still a long way to go and a lot of battels to fight. Luckily the internet helps organizations like the European fsf, the ffii and others to bundle their forces.
Related Pages:
- Patents, Intellectual Property & Future Freedom - the abstract
- Harmen v/d Wal & Ante Wessels - the speakers
- Track:Patents, Intellectual Property & Future Freedom - video and other material
