RE: [OS:N:] Who should control which IP, was: Questionaire about ...

>>> "Paul" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> 
>>>
> The main question for me is - is the enforcement of the Intellectual
>>> Property law in question unfairly limiting an essential field of
human
>>> endeavour OR does it discriminate against those already
disadvantaged in
>>> some way.
 
>>. Bingo. Did you see the Four Corners (ABC [Australia]) doco on Monday
night
>> about the Australian company that apparently holds a patent on the
way >junk
>> DNA codes in the human genome? They're going around extracting
licence
>> payments from other high-tech companies - but their proposed licences
for
>> hospitals and govt health departments that perform genetic testing &
>> screening will basically wipe those services out. I sat and talked
about
>> the issues involved with my wife afterwards, and I have to say, I
didn't
>> like any of the possible scenarios I came up with. It would be a
kindness
>> to wipe out some of those medical / genetic patents; it would be
better >for
>> people to just die of an "untreatable" disease than die knowing that
their
>> disease is curable at an unaffordable price.
>> 
>> Just don't ask me to frame the legislation. King Solomon couldn't do
it.

Johnie Peters Said:
>God I could not agree with you more.  I have said it before and I will
>say it again.  Our concept of business is so pushed to the right it is
>disgusting.

>Some time ago, I am not sure when it ended, scientist all over the
world
>shared and worked together on their findings.  Limmited knowledge at
the
>time required this to advance knowledge.  During this time the ideas of
>a company needed a license from the government to operate was also to
>insure they worked in the best interest of the government and the
people
>it was intended to represent.

Intellectual property notions are entering all spheres of research.
Particularly University research (in Australia at least).  With a 'free
market' university system in place, knowledge produced at these
institutions is automatically treated as private IP and 'owned' either
by the university or the business sponsoring the research.

As a friend of mine doing a PhD at a well known Queensland university
just realized - his research on fungus which attacks banana crops will
be forced into private hands - he is contractually obliged to give his
IP to the university who sells it on to interested companies.  Such
research could make banana crops in poorer regions of the world more
sustainable and feed more people - however, there is profit to be made
from the sale of his ideas, so they are sold like a commodity instead of
a bit of knowledge which would be useful for the human race.

Johnnie Peters Said:
>The bad part is the US is dragging the rest of the world down with it
>through entities such as the WTO.


Yep, that's exactly right - the US is incorporating IP laws into its
trade agreements and pushing the agenda forward under WIPO.  Obviously
an effort to maintain economic advantages which occur with their
ownership of the majority of trade secrets, high tech manufacturing
methods, pharmaceutical products and consumer goods.

Which is perfectly understandable, but it results in the continuation of
current economic imbalances between third and first world countries.

When cotton is sold to the US @ $.078 cents a bale by Argentina and then
sold back to Argentina with Mickey mouse on the front for $20 a shirt it
is quite laughable, but when it is food producing technologies or
pharmaceuticals which result is starvation or untreated sickness, it is
quite alarming!  Monsanto and similar countries licensing seed stock
(while simultaneously aiming to eradicate native seed stock) is not
really a desirable aspect of IP either.

IP has its place - but it really needs to be re-evaluated in many areas.
Also in the information age the indivisibility of binary data (software
and media) should really dictate what a fair price to pay is.

Cheers,
Paul





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