[ILUG] Canvassing and politicians

[Ciarán O'Riordan]

Mark Dennehy <mark.dennehy at gmail.com> writes:
> software patent issues would be so far over their heads as to
> be funny.

Surprisingly, whether they understand it or not, "software patents" is an
issue a lot of politicians have heard of.

And they don't have to fully understand it during the time they spend on
your doorstep, they just need to know that it's something some people care
about and that they should consider being against it.

Tell them:
* They're bureacracy
* They create legal uncertainty in the software sector
* They're a barrier to market entry for new companies
* They're diverting money away from research and innovation
* They block standards and lead to incompatible software - making life frustrating and business inefficient 

If you want to develop any of these points further, here's a starting point:
http://en.swpat.org/wiki/Why_abolish_software_patents

But the details aren't crucial now.  The important thing is to connect
software patents to the above points.  Thorough explanations and supporting
studies is something we'll present when specific discussions on this issue
heat up.

-- 
Ciarán O'Riordan, +32 487 64 17 54, http://ciaran.compsoc.com

Please help build the software patents wiki: http://en.swpat.org

               http://www.EndSoftwarePatents.org

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