[SWLUG] Alan's open letter

[Gareth Lewis]

I am speaking(typing) personally and not in any official capacity here !

The point made below is that it may be better for the OS community to have a re-codified legal statement regarding what types of software innovation can and cannot be patented.

Why ?   well,  if the ONLY option is to have the software directive in its 'keep roughly the status-quo' form or not have any  directive at all,  its better for the OS community to have the software directive.   

In its proposed form, the directive does not significantly change current practice;  it's not significantly more permissive.   But many of you might well complain that it also fails to be any less permissive.  

Being for or against the software directive doesn't necessarily mean you are for or against OS software or 'software patents'.   

G.

(also, the above is not from any particular political stand-point)

>>> <marcusdavage at onetel.net.uk> 08 June 2004 10:30:31 >>>
I have just received a reply from our two MEPs, Glenys 
Kinnock and Eluned Morgan who said that they are "not in 
favour of patenting of software as in the US", that "Europe 
needs a uniform legal approach to stop the drifting towards 
extending patentability to inventions, which would not have 
been traditionally allowed, and to stop patentability of pure 
business methods, algorithms or mathematical methods", 
that "Software products as such, must not be patented" and 
that "Open source software must be allowed to flourish and 
the Commission must ensure that this Directive does not have 
any adverse effect on opensource software and small software 
developers."

Marcus

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