Gotcha! Twice!
Michael Howard was on The World at One this lunchtime, pontificating about his support for ID cards. He said he favoured them because the police say they will help them combat "terrorism, international crime and immigration." He said the same thing about immigration later. Note that he did not say illegal immigration. Well, we all know what he's about really, but it was nice to have his slips of the tongue confirm it.
In other news, today I went to a consultation meeting held at the DTI about software patents. Lord Sainsbury was there and he appeared to have taken note of all the negative letters his department had received on the matter, and invited all the nay sayers to the meeting, together with his officials and people from the UK Patent Office. I daresay it was rather brave of him. The EFFI had done a good job of rustling up support, but I went along mainly because I had the time, and I had been invited.
I think we put a reasonable case to Lord Sainsbury. It looked a couple of times as if he may actually have been taking new information on board. Nevertheless I think we all expect that the Council of Ministers will likely ram through their (dire) version of the EU directive on the subject later this week.
I predict that in ten or twenty years time the patent system in various parts of the world will be abandoned, having failed in its purpose of encouraging and protecting innovation. In the meantime I think its abusers, and there are many, are going to wreak havoc amongst software creators everywhere.
In other news, today I went to a consultation meeting held at the DTI about software patents. Lord Sainsbury was there and he appeared to have taken note of all the negative letters his department had received on the matter, and invited all the nay sayers to the meeting, together with his officials and people from the UK Patent Office. I daresay it was rather brave of him. The EFFI had done a good job of rustling up support, but I went along mainly because I had the time, and I had been invited.
I think we put a reasonable case to Lord Sainsbury. It looked a couple of times as if he may actually have been taking new information on board. Nevertheless I think we all expect that the Council of Ministers will likely ram through their (dire) version of the EU directive on the subject later this week.
I predict that in ten or twenty years time the patent system in various parts of the world will be abandoned, having failed in its purpose of encouraging and protecting innovation. In the meantime I think its abusers, and there are many, are going to wreak havoc amongst software creators everywhere.