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Poland Blocks European Software Patent Vote, For Now

Posted by timothy on from the goalie's-end-run dept.

Anonymous Brave Guy writes "Thanks to the Polish Minister of Science and Information Technology, Wlodzimierz Marcinski, Europe has dropped the current proposal for software patents. He made a special journey to Brussels to withdraw the proposal, basically in protest at the way the patents were being pushed through by the back door. Since the European presidency is about to pass to Luxembourg, this has effectively killed the idea, at least for the immediate future." More at FFII (Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure). This means that the promised move to delay actually worked.

9 of 372 comments (clear)

  1. EU pressure? by Jinjuro · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Maybe the EU saying no to software patents will have some sort of influence on the US. Especially if people in Europe could make it a point of contention.

  2. Thank Poland! by geegs · · Score: 5, Interesting

    EU readers please Thank Poland!

    1. Re:Thank Poland! by Jugalator · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Make sure you thank them for last time too. :-)
      Yes, this is the second time Poland stalls this directive.

      Let's see if we have others getting this through their thick skulls so we don't always have to rely on Poland. :-) Not that they seem unreliable in this matter, but you never know, and I'd rather have a sizable group of countries against this so the companies interested in this directive will give up.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  3. Go Poland by finkployd · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That is twice now they hav saved Europe's ass. Being the first to break the German's Enigma machine and now this.

    Granted in the whole scheme of things, that first one might have been a little more important.

    So I never understood this, why does Poland seem to end up being the butt of jokes? Or is that just a US thing?

    1. Re:Go Poland by pmc · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's complicated.

      The enigma machine was a single component in a cipher system - the procedures by how the machine was used, how the rotors were selected, how the signal was set up were all other components.

      The Poles did two things - they broke an early cipher system based on the enigma machine, and to do this they had to figure out some things that, as it happened, remained the same during WWII - particularly the wiring of the machine rotor interface.

      They handed over all their work to both Bletchley Park and the French Intelligence Service because a) they were about to be invaded and b) recent changes in the cipher system used around enigma had changed, rendering their technique ineffective. The French didn't do much with it, but Alan Turing (amoungst many others) at Bletchley Park managed to figure out a systematic way of breaking any cipher system based on the enigma, and this intelligence - codenamed Ultra - was immensely significant during the war. Even with this head start there were still long periods during the war when enigma could not be broken due to system changes.

      So without Poland it is fair to say that the Allies probably would not have broken enigma. Bletchley Park had basically given up pre-war, and they would not have caught up if Poland hadn't shown them the way. Equally, for all the acheivement of the Poles, their breakthrough would have been for nought as the newer cipher system had surpassed their resources even before the start of the war.

  4. Why Poland ? by MosesJones · · Score: 4, Interesting


    Its unlikely that Poland would have done this as a pure solo effort, for fear of a backlash. There must have been others behind the scene agreeing with the position, with Poland making the defiant stance.

    Does this mean that Poland acted as the front for a number of smaller countries. Or did a politician REALLY make a stand based on principle against all commers.

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
  5. Great day :-) by Jugalator · · Score: 4, Interesting

    He made a special journey to Brussels to withdraw the proposal, basically in protest at the way the patents were being pushed through by the back door

    Cool, someone got it.

    Here's hoping this action by Poland will make MORE clueless ministers go "huh? why did he feel it so necessary to stop that" and actually start reading up on the subject.

    I fear the software giants will bring up this over and over again as long as EU says "no" though. :-/

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  6. Wlodzimierz Marcinski - He understands IT! by Handbrewer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He has been an IT manager in private business and studied Mathematics - i almost wet my pants of happiness as i read his CV.
    This is one politician i want to decide such matters as he actually has knowledge of what he is doing. Im so glad Poland is now in the EU :) - Heres to Wlodzimierz Marcinski!

    I wish we had politicians like him in Denmark when we decide IT politics :\

  7. Re:I've understood differently by NoOneInParticular · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Good question.

    The difference lies in the pressure from their home markets and the place where they can develop software. EU companies can safely develop their software for their home market undisturbed by considerations of patent law, and even get a few strategic patents in the US. Once they grow big enough to make the jump over the big pond, they have plenty of time to prepare themselves to cope with US patent law. They will also be big enough to start cross-licensing agreements etc. If need be, they can buy the licenses for the rights they miss. Only for the USA.

    No such luck for US companies. They will have to cope with software patents from day one if they want to grow in their home market. This will hamper their growth and potentially kill their business early on. Furthermore, if they survive this and want to start selling their software abroad, they can not easily ignore patent law, even for software only sold outside of the United States. This because the software will be *developed* inside the US, and on this the patent holder can but a stop to it. Even if it's not sold in the US, patent law makes it illegal to actually manufacture it.

    So if they want to make the move to the rest of the world with patent encumbered products, they'll have to move the development (design, architecture, etc.) to a place outside of the US as well. In practice they will cease being an US software company. Of course they can also obtain the necessary licenses for the patented software, but they will be competing in the rest of the world with local companies (that are not operating in the US) that do not have to pay this patent tax.

    Most importantly however, certain types of software will simply not be made in the US. I personally was involved in a scheme like this, where in the early nineties I worked for a company that independently developed something that turned out to be patented in the US. The one that patented the general technique did not really build a business out of it, but the existence of the patent itself has kept all possible competition from the US at bay. Nobody would invest in anything remotely connected to it because there were litigation issues involved.

    The only competitor this company has seen in the US that uses a technique similar to the one we've been using all this time went to great lengths to establish a patent of their own that was significantly different from the original patent. We however could safely develop the technique, use and sell it in Europe, grow, develop alternative techniques as a second plan, attract investors, while in the meantime we've collected sufficient prior art to annihilate this particular patent if need be. This company is now operating in the USA as well without any problem or direct competition as the US inventor has preemptively killed all US competition.