"Victoria Clare" wrote in message
. 240.10...
I believe that patenting a living thing is not, and should not be,
the same as patenting a simple gadget.

I once worked in a garden centre (nearly 25 years ago).
Many of our plants were sold at 1p each when sold by the dozen,
e.g.hedging. It was a large GC, with a drive through, sheds, office,
parking and off course ourselves there to serve and inform.
Yet.... somehow... many customers resented paying anything at all for
plants and did so on similar grounds to your objections to patenting
plants.

Um, I think you are putting words into my newsreader. I would see it as
more like providing a translation into the language of practical effect.

I have no objection to people being paid (and paid well) for their work
and enterprise, and I'm very pleased that (for example) Hill House are
able to make a living through it. Well done them.

I'm certainly not suggesting they should stand alone and defy the trend
to register their plants - that would be mad: they'd just be mown down
by others less scrupulous.

I'm just not convinced that applying patents to something as complex as
a living plant (or animal) should be exactly the same as applying a
patent to a new mouse-trap. You need a lot more information to make a
petunia than you do to make a mousetrap. Is this the only possible way
to compensate people for their work? No. You may be aware that it seems in
the case of men, (alledgedly) title/position/status forms of reward are
often accepted as equal to money.... albeit that they don't pay the bills.
However, At present money rules and it's ruling effect has gotton stronger
off late.By way of example, several years ago I had to change address 5
times in 12 months andeach time I ran into the same problem. I would reply
to an advert. The phone call would go something like this;Me; I'm calling
about the room/bedsit/flat, is it still available?Ad person: Yeah, Look,
sorry to be so fast but I have to ask you a few questions Ok!May I ask waht
you do for a living?Me: I'm a gardener (technically more landscape gardening
but leave it out because too many don't understand the "landscape" bit, then
when I explain they say, "oh you mean you're a gardener")Ad person: "What
was that" (shouts to someone else where s/he is)Oh sorry mate it's gone.Then
I see the same add run for 2 more weeks and I give it another go. Another
person answers. Not the one mentioned in the add. The accomodation is still
available, s/he can't figure out why, (duh)but I have to speak to
alan/paul.sophi about it and s/he's not in.But at least it was not as bad as
those times when I've answered the job question and all I got was an
inaudible grunt as the Ad person slammed the phone down.Amazingly not one
estate/letting agency could seem to be able to help me out.A mini property
barron who neighbours a customer of mine was mor.. hmm.. informative. He
couldn't possibly let me any of his properties because his rent increases
could not possibly be matched on a gardeners income and so soon down the
road there would be all the hassles of eviction. (but there was also a
mention of something akin to lowering the tone of his properties with riff
raff.)Hell, I even once got really bored with being very alone so I answered
an add from a dating agency. I asked how much it was. They replied with the
job question and when I answered that one they (she) very politelyrejected
my interest and suggested something more down market might be more
appropriate.Luckily I don't need such agencies, but interestingly because of
a foreigner living elsewhere and therefore not polluted by the rat
race.Compensating people for their work should start long before the money
speaks. But that's sheer fantasy nowadays There have to be other ways of
dealing with unique information and the
creating of new things. I agree with that sentiment.
You have to admit plant registration does restrict the spread of new
varieties. A number of times I've found a plant via the Web that
sounded fantastic and that I would happily spend quite a bit on, but
there is no UK /european supplier, and the nursery that bred the thing
is not set up to make international sales, or not interested in retail.

The copyleft scheme I mentioned is a system for voluntarily making some
information (sort of) free, in the belief that information that is free
leads to new ideas and discoveries as more people use it. Such belief's
though excemplary, usually get swept out and exploited by oppurtunists.

Patrick