Technical Invention as Fascinosum
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"Fascinosum" is an unfathomable object which calls for worship and for administration by men of superior knowledge, according to exceptional rules, which, in other contexts, might seem to run counter to common sense. In much of the conventional wisdom about patents, the term "technical invention" is often misunderstood as referring to this "fascinosum". Attempts to define the term on rational grounds have been frustrated by an underlying desire to cover all fascinosa by the term. Programmers and engineers find it difficult to explain that problem-solving is not an other-worldly activity and that the patent magic, by which it is supposedly transformed into tradeable assets, is arbitrary and counter-productive. The fascinosum seems to be the last major refuge in which certain medieval traditions, such as that of states granting broad monopolies, have been able to survive against the tide of enlightenment.
News & Chronology
2004-09 german coalition paper opposes "technical" to "obvious", understands technicity as fascinosity
2003-11 Wuermeling amendments understand "technical" as "difficult", are rejected by the Commission because of this -- This Wuermeling misunderstanding seems to originate in the underlying "fascinosum" thinking
- 16xx Queen Elisabeth I grants monopolies to her friends. After a protracted battle with the mother of parliaments, her monopoly-granting rights are limited to the realm of "inventions".
Definitions
"The fasinosum is a feeling of joy, gratitude, pleasure, or onrush of grace, at catching a glimpse of the Ultimate, or numen; the tremendum is a reaction of awe, horror, fear, or a feeling of being overwhelmed. As in the esthetic experience, both the negative and the positive are seen as valid and therefore endurable" excerpt from Creativity and Personal Freedom
Patent Law Reworded
Art 27 TRIPs (in patent lobby understanding)
Patents shall be available for all kinds of fascinating achievements, provided that they are new, non-obvious and useful.
Commission Software Patent Directive Proposal in a Nutshell
Member states shall ensure that computer programs are viewed through the patent system's lense as computer-implemented fascinosa.
