New Zealand bans software patents

[techs]

http://www.zdnet.com/new-zealand-bans-software-patents-7000019955/

New Zealand bans software patents

New Zealand has finally passed a new Patents Bill that will effectively outlaw software patents after five years of debate, delay and intense lobbying from multinational software vendors.

Aptly-named Commerce Minister Craig Foss welcomed the modernisation of patents law, saying it marked a "significant step towards driving innovation in New Zealand".

“By clarifying the definition of what can be patented, we are giving New Zealand businesses more flexibility to adapt and improve existing inventions, while continuing to protect genuine innovations,” Foss said.

The nearly unanimous passage of the Bill was also greeted by Institute of IT Professionals (IITP) chief executive Paul Matthews, who congratulated Foss for listening to the IT industry and ensuring software patents were excluded.

Matthews said it was a breakthrough day "where old law met modern technology and came out on the side of New Zealand’s software innovators”.



wtf?

 

[Dirigible]

Why would that be a wtf? There are good arguments that software patents are both not needed and they also harm innovation and consumers.

 

[AdamK47]

Good news. I hope it spreads to other countries.

 

[Regs]

This seems like one of those instances I should read before commenting....not sure if could do it.

 

[Regs]

Ok I read it. And the editor of that article is an asshole for keeping that title. He will likely change it later, but he don't care, he got our attention.

"The Patents Bill was first drafted in 2008. In 2010 the Commerce Select Committee recommended a total ban on software patents. However, that stance was overturned with the introduction of a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) in August last year where the removal of software patents was reversed."

So its not a complete ban of patents, as business owners still have protection of their work. Obviously, they are not idiots and are not going to take away every business propitiatory incentive to make a start up company. In-fact, that is the exact opposite of their intentions. Hey, if it will work, hopefully USA can adopt something similar in the future from all these frivolous law suits and patent squatters.

 

[darkewaffle]

I read the article and I still feel like I'm missing something. A lot of things even lol.

 

[cheezy321]

Just like China is the place to get away with making counterfeit goods, NZ will become the place to steal all the source code you want.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Just like China is the place to get away with making counterfeit goods, NZ will become the place to steal all the source code you want.

you have to get access to the source code first - that would involve theft - illegal.

Software patents are ideas - not patentable.
Implementation is a different concept.

 

[foghorn67]

you have to get access to the source code first - that would involve theft - illegal.

Software patents are ideas - not patentable.
Implementation is a different concept.

He's worried about Apple.

 

[BladeVenom]

Just like China is the place to get away with making counterfeit goods, NZ will become the place to steal all the source code you want.

You won't be able to steal source code; there are still copyright laws.

This will stop abusive companies like Apple from suing everyone for having similar features.

 

[mikeymikec]

I'd say I'm generally against the idea of software patents because they're usually about the end result or 'look and feel', but I think a software patent should be permissible if it was about a technique for accomplishing something, for example, if someone comes up with a load of code that allows a particular job to be done ten times faster than anything currently available, then they should be allowed to patent it. If someone else wants to use the patent holder's technique then they have to talk to the patent holder. However, it doesn't stop someone else figuring out how the first person did it by looking into the problem again and figuring it out for themselves.

On the general topic of patents, it should be about the technique / method and not the end result.