Report on Software Patents

sien writes: "The Fraunhofer Institute, holder of the patent on the MP3 codec, has published a report (PDF, German) recommending that patents on software not be added in the EU. There is a ZDNet story, and also here which is a German site for protecting innovation from misuse of patents. The report is important because it will be considered in the EU wide decision on software patents."

What is a "technical effect"?

[imrdkl]

[...] patents only being applicable to software that has a technical effect

Can someone tell me what this means? Is having a technical effect different from having a technical affect, for example? ;)

Re:What is a "technical effect"?

[Snowfox]

It's off topic, but I can afford the karma hit:

[...] patents only being applicable to software that has a technical effect

Can someone tell me what this means? Is having a technical effect different from having a technical affect, for example? ;)

In this word sense, effect is the correct word -- effect is a noun, and affect is a verb. You affect to create an outcome, and that outcome is the effect.

Affect does have a noun form, however it relates to feelings, not causal constructs.

Re:What is a "technical effect"?

[imrdkl]

Uh, thanks for the english lesson.

I was rather hoping that at least one reply would help me to understand what it means for software to have a "technical effect".

Re:What is a "technical effect"?

[Lars T.]

Nitpick: affect also is (nitpickier: can be) a noun, but then means :

1.Feeling or emotion, especially as manifested by facial expression or body language: "The soldiers seen on television had been carefully chosen for blandness of affect" (Norman Mailer).

2. Obsolete. A disposition, feeling, or tendency.

Re:What is a "technical effect"?

[dlek]

From a FAQ [patent.gov.uk] at the UK Patent Office [patent.gov.uk]:

9. People are talking about "technical effect". What is this?

Patents in the UK and Europe are granted for technical inventions (eg: medicines, engines, circuit boards etc.). Innovations which are to be patentable must not only be novel and inventive, but are expected to have a "technical effect". Recent changes in the US mean that over there inventions, apart from being novel and not obvious, need only be "useful", but not technical. Consequently methods for teaching music or methods for undercutting a competitor's price, for example, are now patentable in the US, even though they would not be here because a novel teaching method or pricing strategy have no "technical" character even though they are useful.

Hope that helps. Every definition I found is similarly murky, but I think the meaning comes through.

-dlek

Re:What is a "technical effect"?

[imrdkl]

Thanks. That was certainly useful.