[Gllug] Patents *again*

Mike Brodbelt mike at coruscant.demon.co.uk
Tue Jan 17 20:50:23 UTC 2006


On Tue, 2006-01-17 at 20:13 +0000, Rich Walker wrote:
> Sigh.
> 
> Software Patent Directive lurches once more from the grave, this time
> disguised as a harmonisation/single market initiative.
> 
> Consultation document here:
> http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/indprop/patent/consultation_en.htm
> 
> Any Nethack players got any ideas on how to *keep* this one dead?

It's not going to stay dead, but that's not necessarily a disaster. The
current situation with the EPO is far from satisfactory - they busily
grant patents on things that aren't patentable, leading to a situation
where there are a lot of "unexploded" patents just waiting for the law
to allow them before the holder decides to try and license them.

There seems to be a growing awareness that software patents are a
hindrance to innovation as opposed to encouraging it - witness the
movements toward patent reform in the USA. Against this backdrop, if we
get involved with the process of the new European directive, it might be
possible to get software patents declared definitively invalid once and
for all. That would help small innovators in technical markets, and
likely spur the European economy as a result. After the exposure of the
dirty tricks campaign around the last directive, I think it's quite
possible there will never be a better opportunity to get a directive
which kills EU software patents permanently. FFII et al have their work
cut out for them.

Mike

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