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EU Moves Toward Software Patents

Posted by michael on from the imperial-march-playing dept.

edooper writes "Apparently the patent discussion in Europe has taken a turn for the worse. According to the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure: 'This Wednesday, the Irish Presidency managed to secure a qualified majority for a counter-proposal to the software patents directive, with only a few countries - including Belgium and Germany - showing resistance. This proposal discards all limiting amendments from the European Parliament and reinstates the laxist provisions from the Commission, adding direct patentability of data structures and process descriptions as icing on the cake. In a remarkable sign of unity in times of imminent elections, members of the European Parliament from all political groups are condemning this blatant disrespect for democracy in Europe.' Read more: swpat.ffii.org."

7 of 322 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I'll probably get modded down for this but... by sugar+and+acid · · Score: 4, Informative

    No this is not a software patent, you have improved the process of making steel but the process in the way you have implemented it requires the use of a computer to control it. The physical process of making steel is different and patent that. I mean by this is not a software issue, the patent for this should cover the same process being implemented for everything from something like a analogue electromechanical system to someone doing this level of control manually.

  2. Re:What oo Software Patents Have to Do... by leonscape · · Score: 4, Informative

    This was already voted down for the people we elected. This is unelected people saying it doesn't matter, what the elected said where changing it back.

    The Irish Polticians have a cozy setup with MS.

    --


    If a first you don't succeed, your a programmer...
  3. not happy? Then SIGN THE PETITION! by acidvoid · · Score: 5, Informative

    Read how you can help here...

    http://swpat.ffii.org/group/todo/index.en.html

    Sign a petition here...

    http://petition.eurolinux.org/index_html?LANG=en

    When I signed the number of signatures was 322888, A MILLION ARE NEEDED!!!!

    Best Regards,

    #322889

    --
    NetNewsWire into Yojimbo!
  4. How "democracy was subverted" by darkonc · · Score: 4, Informative
    If you lose, don't rant about the failure of democracy. Rant about the failure of your powers of persuasion.

    My understanding of what happend is something like:

    • The patent office comes out with a wishlist.
    • The EU Parliment votes it down and puts some strict limits on software patents.
    • The Parliment vote is passed to some bureaucrats to clean up and make into 'proper' laws (it's now out of the Parliament's hands).
    • The bureaucrats rip out all of the changes made by parliament, and add a few options that weren't even in there to begin with.
    • The president -- currently held by Ireland -- (and literally sponsored by Microsoft) manages to get his EU Council of Ministers to accept this bureaucrat-mangled edit.
    Voila! democracy subverted!
    --
    Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
  5. Re:How would this work? by BillyBlaze · · Score: 4, Informative
    Even incredibly complex data structures shouldn't be patentable. If they were, for example, Microsoft could patent Office formats and nobody else could write compatible software. The market would get even less competitive, and with no real advantage.

    The theoretical benefit of patents is that companies would publish their formats. But in practice, patents aren't very helpful to someone else implementing the format, especially if the patents were never intended to be licensed. Data format patents would be used primarily to expand monopolies - any company with over 50% market share could benefit from limiting interoperability with competing products. This would be bad enough to offset the potential gains, and much worse than the status quo. At least now, though reverse engineering is difficult, you are allowed to use what you learn.

  6. The battle is not yet won and not yet lost by AigariusDebian · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is long not over, people.

    On 17-18th of May, there will be a real vote by the Council of Ministers. If they vote against software patents - we win.
    If Council of Ministers votes for software patents then the bill will return to european Parlament for a re-discussion, which will be postproned to September due to elections.
    There we will have the chance to discuss this again, this time with a new European Parlament.

    Note: the previose EPclearly stated AGAINST software patents.

  7. Re:Cut the xenophobic crap... by AigariusDebian · · Score: 5, Informative

    He is wrong. It acctually is much more interesting.
    Both USPTO and the new directive violate the TRIPS and the Berne convention which both USA and EU signed.
    TRIPS article 12. says that software is to be considered a literary work.
    Berne convention clearly states that literary works are not patentable.

    The problem is that the European Council and the Irish Presidency claim that their proposition doesn't allow software patents, but that is such a pile of bullshit.