Re: [tlug] RE: Shuttleworth Interview at Red Herring (Roger Markus)

["Fergal Daly" <fergal@example.com>]

On 06/01/07, Kenneth Burling <meyaden_emrys@example.com> wrote:
> I certainly hope this is not the case.  The current stream of judges seems
> to have little understanding of patent law, and microsoft likes to hire
> expensive charismatic lawyers.  If they were to be so bold as to violate
> every line of patent and copyright law in existence (which is what such a
> move would do), then they might actually succeed, and solidify the current
> trend of making patent law worthless.  If a law is never enforced, then it
> doesn't effectively exist.

I don't think you can say that the current set of judges have little
understanding of patent law. Their only job is to understand the law.
However it's fair to say they have little understanding of the
consequences of applying patent law to software the same way they
apply it to widget making. For the lower courts though, they have no
choice but apply it like that. it's their job to apply existing law
and precedent. It's only when you get up to the supreme court etc that
the judges are supposed to start reversing precedents or radically
reinterpreting things due to new circumstances and subtleties,

F