06.19.08
Intellectual Monopolist to Keep Eye On: Commissioner Mccreevy
“Everybody is connected to everybody else, all data that can be shared will be shared will be shared: get used to it.”
–Eben Moglen
There are several prominent people out there who seem to be pulling strings on behalf of the proprietary software giants and big media companies. One of them, whom we identified several times before, is Nicolas Sarkozy. Another such person seems to be Mr Mccreevy [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], so make a mental note. Here is his latest blow.
Today, the leading European centres for intellectual property research have released a joint letter to EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, enclosing an impact assessment detailing the far reaching and negative effects of the proposal to extend the term of copyright in sound recordings. […] “This Copyright Extension Directive, proposed by Commissioner Mccreevy, is likely to damage seriously the reputation of the Commission…”
Larry Lessig would cringe at the sight this because he thought it was only an American problem. Just like in software patents, Mccreevy helps in spreading American law and bringing it over to Europe (especially the undesirable laws that benefit only monopolists).
Over at the MSBBC today, there is this article bemoaning the slowness of the patent system.
The world patent system is under severe stress.”
Delays in Europe of up to 10 years have left somewhere between five and ten million inventions globally queuing for approval, according to the head of European Patent Office, Alison Brimelow.
Maybe if the system was not overburdened by junk applications (trivial ‘ideas’ and duplicates), then it wouldn’t end up this way. Demonstrating shapp contrast, over at the Peer-to-Patent project, great success was reported just days ago.
Peer-to-Patent Pilot Releases Report Demonstrating Success of Public Participation in Patent Process
Peer-to-Patent, the groundbreaking Web-based governmental “social networking” project, has released a report on the results of its one-year pilot. Peer-to-Patent seeks to improve patent quality by connecting the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to an open network of scientific and technical experts to enhance the patent examination process.
See? An open-source approach works better even for patenting, whereas the US patent office currently seems to forbid or discriminate against open source algorithms. What a shame and an utter sham. █
“Fighting patents one by one will never eliminate the danger of software patents; any more than swatting mosquitoes will eliminate malaria.”
–Richard Stallman
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
Slated said,
June 20, 2008 at 10:00 am
McCreevy is a slimeball who was kicked out of Fianna Fáil (Irish political party) for organising a mutiny in 1979, with his infamous “Gang of 22″.
Interestingly enough, he was also one of the proponents for keeping the scandalous Northern Rock affair a secret.
Fortunately for us, he failed on both accounts.