8 ms·

New Zealand Politicians Want To Explicitly Outlaw Software Patents

37 points by ra 17y ago

Devilboy 17y ago
What would this do to existing software patents in NZ?
- joe_the_user 17y ago
  Invalidate them, I assume. Keep in mind patents can be considered a license granted by the government rather than a form of property. Thus invalidating a patent would not involve a taking of property from a private owner. Of course, I don't know whether the New Zealand has a constitution or whether that constitution prohibits the taking of property without compensation.
  - TeHCrAzY 17y ago
    NZ are a bit strange with regards to their "constitution". Check out the wiki link for an explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_New_Zealand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_New_Zealand
    - brehaut 17y ago
      USA are a bit strange with regards to their "democracy". Check out the wiki link for an explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_States
      - TeHCrAzY 17y ago
        I didn't write that particularly well. My apologies; I was trying to convey that the concept of constitution was somewhat different there (That the word "constitution" is somewhat of a misnomer).
        brehaut 16y ago
        No worries, thanks for the apologies. In hindsight it was snarkier than i intended
Enlightenment 17y ago
Hmmmm, so if a business moves its headquarters to NZ, then will it protect them from software lawsuits from businesses in other countries???
Enlightenment 17y ago
Good...the sooner we kill software patents...the better off we will be! Patent trolls have gotten out of hand over very simple concepts.
stcredzero 17y ago
Smart move, if the government makes startup immigration easy and invests in colleges and network infrastructure. Perhaps New Zealand might become a haven for Open development and innovation?
ZeroGravitas 17y ago
If you're interested in what's happening in New Zealand you might enjoy this presentation given by Don Christie of Catalyst IT about shifting the government desktops to linux and all the related issues around this: http://2009.r2.co.nz/20100118/50026.htm http://2009.r2.co.nz/20100118/50026.htm

37 points by ra 17y ago

Devilboy 17y ago

What would this do to existing software patents in NZ?

joe_the_user 17y ago
Invalidate them, I assume. Keep in mind patents can be considered a license granted by the government rather than a form of property. Thus invalidating a patent would not involve a taking of property from a private owner. Of course, I don't know whether the New Zealand has a constitution or whether that constitution prohibits the taking of property without compensation.
- TeHCrAzY 17y ago
  NZ are a bit strange with regards to their "constitution". Check out the wiki link for an explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_New_Zealand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_New_Zealand
  - brehaut 17y ago
    USA are a bit strange with regards to their "democracy". Check out the wiki link for an explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_States
    - TeHCrAzY 17y ago
      I didn't write that particularly well. My apologies; I was trying to convey that the concept of constitution was somewhat different there (That the word "constitution" is somewhat of a misnomer).
      - brehaut 16y ago
        No worries, thanks for the apologies. In hindsight it was snarkier than i intended

Enlightenment 17y ago

Hmmmm, so if a business moves its headquarters to NZ, then will it protect them from software lawsuits from businesses in other countries???

Enlightenment 17y ago

Good...the sooner we kill software patents...the better off we will be! Patent trolls have gotten out of hand over very simple concepts.

stcredzero 17y ago

Smart move, if the government makes startup immigration easy and invests in colleges and network infrastructure. Perhaps New Zealand might become a haven for Open development and innovation?

ZeroGravitas 17y ago

If you're interested in what's happening in New Zealand you might enjoy this presentation given by Don Christie of Catalyst IT about shifting the government desktops to linux and all the related issues around this: http://2009.r2.co.nz/20100118/50026.htm http://2009.r2.co.nz/20100118/50026.htm