waider: (Default)
waider ([personal profile] waider) wrote2005-04-20 01:03 am

legalities

One of my readers (hi [livejournal.com profile] mopti!) will be delighted to know I’m currently poring over documents relating to software patents and related issues in the EU. Said reader has been providing huge assistance to my attempts to put together a coherent letter to the undecided MEPs in my area in order to persuade them not to legislate me out of a job, and probably is a little peeved that I’m taking so long between drafts. In my defence I’ll point out that the guinness in my local is very tasty, and sometimes I get distracted by bright shiny objects. Plus, [livejournal.com profile] mopti‘s got MAD WRITING SKILLZ and I keep writing chunks of text and then deleting them in the realisation that he’s going to tell me I’ve lost the plot AGAIN. Anyway. I just stumbled across something that I will have to dig further at, but which relates to my recent reverse-engineering efforts; it is something of which I was aware, almost talisman-like, but which I had never bothered looking up. But here it is: Directive 91/250/EEC Articles 5 and 6 specifically authorise me to reverse-engineer software for interoperability. Now, I’m going to have to go read some more to find out what exactly is meant by interoperability, but right now my eyes are starting to glaze with all this bloody legalese. Oh, one other note: the justification for one of EP’s proposed amendments to the CIID is, "It is bad draftsmanship to couch recitals as normative provisions." Take that, Directive Drafters!

Ohh, I'm not peeved

[identity profile] mopti.livejournal.com 2005-04-20 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Fame -- named at last in a Livejournal.

This assistance has been /most/ geeky. I can imagine waider explaining this to his mother or father: "Yes, dear, I know we have a son who's into software engineering and I can never understand it though I do nod my head from time to time in an encouraging way. But it's just become seriously worse. Now he taken to studying patent law . And even worse, he's studying EU legislative procedures

geek^3
ext_181967: (Default)

Re: Ohh, I'm not peeved

[identity profile] waider.livejournal.com 2005-04-20 03:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, you've put in a lot of effort to dig stuff up for me and proofread my inane ramblings, and you should know it's appreciated even if I do get dist.. hoo boy. What a SHINY object! I wonder what it is...

Re: Ohh, I'm not peeved

[identity profile] mopti.livejournal.com 2005-04-20 06:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn. My faux HTML mark signalling hushed voice and even more hushed voice was editied out.