[DEFEATED] Foreign Patent Protection Act

[Kingdom of the Polar Bear]

Ambassador Aurora speaks into the microphone:
"Very interesting piece of legislation you have brought forth before us here. However I need some clarification on the second clause. The first part about illegal good I can get behind. This like however had me scratching my head,

"or for any form of sapient life, as it is not very nice to treat people as property.

I assume you mean that no one can make a genetically modified individual and try to patent them since it would be considered a form of slavery. But what if you have Anthropormorphic animal individuals like myself and many in my home country. Does this mean that they can not file for patents? I'm sorry if this answer is painfully obvious. I have a hard time comprehending texts sometimes."

[Wallenburg]

Ambassador Aurora speaks into the microphone:
"Very interesting piece of legislation you have brought forth before us here. However I need some clarification on the second clause. The first part about illegal good I can get behind. This like however had me scratching my head,

"or for any form of sapient life, as it is not very nice to treat people as property.

I assume you mean that no one can make a genetically modified individual and try to patent them since it would be considered a form of slavery. But what if you have Anthropormorphic animal individuals like myself and many in my home country. Does this mean that they can not file for patents? I'm sorry if this answer is painfully obvious. I have a hard time comprehending texts sometimes."

"I can only assume that you and your civilization consist of sapient individuals. If that is true, then what species of sapient life you are is entirely irrelevant to my resolution. You can still file for patents like any other sapient being in a member state with one or more patent offices."

[Kingdom of the Polar Bear]

Ambassador Aurora speaks into the microphone:
"Very interesting piece of legislation you have brought forth before us here. However I need some clarification on the second clause. The first part about illegal good I can get behind. This like however had me scratching my head,

"or for any form of sapient life, as it is not very nice to treat people as property.

I assume you mean that no one can make a genetically modified individual and try to patent them since it would be considered a form of slavery. But what if you have Anthropormorphic animal individuals like myself and many in my home country. Does this mean that they can not file for patents? I'm sorry if this answer is painfully obvious. I have a hard time comprehending texts sometimes."

"I can only assume that you and your civilization consist of sapient individuals. If that is true, then what species of sapient life you are is entirely irrelevant to my resolution. You can still file for patents like any other sapient being in a member state with one or more patent offices."

"That answers my question. Thank you for the clarification. I stil, don't know what to decide so I will cast my vote later on. Till then I abstain."

[Nume]

Woah, that lemming effect.

I am firmly against this, not just because of the lemming, just because this seems worse thank Foreign Patent Act.

"Oh, it most certainly is, Ambassador. But it is what the voters asked for."

"My fellow Numeians and I may simply be lemmings in the "lemming effect", good sir, but when you seem to disapprove of your own proposal, then I believe the lemmings of the World Assembly can rationally disapprove as well."

[Wallenburg]

Woah, that lemming effect.

I am firmly against this, not just because of the lemming, just because this seems worse thank Foreign Patent Act.

"Oh, it most certainly is, Ambassador. But it is what the voters asked for."

"My fellow Numeians and I may simply be lemmings in the "lemming effect", good sir, but when you seem to disapprove of your own proposal, then I believe the lemmings of the World Assembly can rationally disapprove as well."

"They can, if they voted against the repeal as well. But most of them did not. Instead of actually reading the repeal or this replacement, they just voted how the big delegates did. That is in no way rational. Of course, this is not meant to characterize your own nation. That you have come to this discussion would at least suggest that you are not a lemming, as lemmings rarely do more than vote and disappear."

[Wallenburg]

"Foreign Patent Protection Act" was defeated 14,980 votes to 3,152.

Thank you to all who voted "For"! I'll see about opening debate on this again, but I do have some other work to attend to at the moment.

[States of Glory WA Office]

"Oh, it most certainly is, Ambassador. But it is what the voters asked for."

"So Ambassador, what you are saying is you made this worse on...purpose?

I highly doubt your legitimacy as an actual Ambassador. He can't be."

Fairburn: Of course he isn't. Anyone who maintains that any Delegation sent by the Wallenburgers is legitimate must either be dishonest or deluded.

Harold: (wearing a barrister's outfit) We approve of Clause 4d, but we feel as if there isn't nearly enough red tape.

[Wallenburg]

"So Ambassador, what you are saying is you made this worse on...purpose?

I highly doubt your legitimacy as an actual Ambassador. He can't be."

Fairburn: Of course he isn't. Anyone who maintains that any Delegation sent by the Wallenburgers is legitimate must either be dishonest or deluded.

Ogenbond kneels behind his podium and draws his revolver. He fires two bullets at Fairburn, which promptly turn to delicious chocolate ice cream as they approach the ambassador.

[Giant Bats]

Ogenbond kneels behind his podium and draws his revolver. He fires two bullets at Fairburn, which promptly turn to delicious chocolate ice cream as they approach the ambassador.

Many people, when being made aware of the Tikrr's excellent hearing, automatically assumed that loud noises would hurt their ears just like their own, less acute hearing organs were, but they were wrong. They forgot that the Tikrr didn't only have an acute hearing, they were also natural echolocators. And when hunting, they had to use echolocation and other auditory communication at great distances, which required producing loud noises. If their very sensitive hearing didn't have defensive mechanisms, they would deafen themselves when doing that and miss any returning echoes.

Evolution had given their hearing an off-switch, and, more precisely, an automatic off-switch for the frequencies the loudness of which surpassed certain threshold. Which meant that they could very well use their hunting sonar at a certain frequency and converse normally with their hunting partner who was flying nearby, without either of them suffering from hearing loss in any other but the certain frequency used for echolocation, and even then only temporarily. Full hearing sensitivity in the temporarily deafened frequency returned after a while, similarly to how some visual species might find their low-light sight returning after they had exited a brightly-lit space.

That was why Ikiti, who had been more or less dozing in the voting hall after a good meal eaten outside the building, merely turned an ear at the sounds of the weapon firing. She was aware of how lethal attacks against other sapient creatures would become non-lethal, at least as long as they were done in the international spaces inside the building, so she wasn't worried about the weapon or its projectiles. She was just glad that the system didn't consider tirisherr sapient.

"It is too bad your proposal failed," she remarked, "but if it makes you feel better, you can have something fresh to kill from the Bar, just tell Neville that Ikiti said it was alright."

In her mind that was a very generous offer; not only were all creatures from her world rare imports, but also it was unlikely that the alien would want to eat his kill, so in essence it was wasted meat. And the Tikrr didn't like to see edible meat to be wasted.

- Ikiti Tikilikrr, Head of Diplomatic Wing of the Tikrr, 10th generation mother of two

[Wallenburg]

"It is too bad your proposal failed," she remarked, "but if it makes you feel better, you can have something fresh to kill from the Bar, just tell Neville that Ikiti said it was alright."

In her mind that was a very generous offer; not only were all creatures from her world rare imports, but also it was unlikely that the alien would want to eat his kill, so in essence it was wasted meat. And the Tikrr didn't like to see edible meat to be wasted.

- Ikiti Tikilikrr, Head of Diplomatic Wing of the Tikrr, 10th generation mother of two

"Um," Ogenbond said, wondering how to respond. It would be undiplomatic of him to refuse such a gift, but Ogenbond had never killed animals for food, even after entering the military. He set the safety catch on his revolver and stowed it in its holster. "Well, Ambassador, I'm a little busy at the moment, but perhaps we could look to do some hunting outside at a later date? I'm not sure how you feel about wild game."