[pp.int.general] Bullshit EU consultation

[Markus Drenger]

> This survey does deal with patents -- it lists them in the questions.
> The other survey deals with trade secrets, apparently, not with
> patents.
IPRED deals with civil enforcement and not with immaterial rights as
such. The survey on trade secrets focuses on  wether trade secrets are
protected appropriately or if other immaterial rights such as patents,
copyright, trademarks or industrial design need to be expanded in order
to include previously unprotected trade secrets, such as 'software as such'.
> No, that would be a disaster!  Any "reform" that tries to cover
> both copyrights and patents at once would tend to make them more
> similar, and that would probably be bad for both.
>
> The idea that copyright law and patent law are one issue
> is garbage.  Any project (survey, reform, whatever) based on that
> assumption is Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Copyright and patents were granted by a state within its territory and
states made treaties to acclaim copyright by foreign nationals or give
patent holders an one year priority to file patents in other states
within the union.
Then accidently the internet appeared and turned Lex loci protectionis
and the scope of legislations upside down. When states like the US
assume all domain names within their jurisdiction or charge a european
programmer because somebody uses his software, those problems need to be
dealt with in a single reform / treaty.

However, changing the european patent convention, the Unitary Patent,
the european patent and various copyright directives requires multiple
reforms ;)

sincerely,
Markus