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EU Software Patents Dead Again

Posted by timothy on from the happy-news dept.

Joe Blakesley writes "Heise is reporting (in German) that the JURI (legal division of the European Parliament who tend to be more pro-EPO) have voted to invoke Rule 55 for a total restart of the software patents process (going back through the anti-swpat Parliament with a totally new directive) following attempts by the EC to get their directive through by the back door. This is an important victory for democracy and it means we can no longer say that the JURI is out. Also see Groklaw's story."

10 of 325 comments (clear)

  1. This shows the truth..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This only shows that the U$ is on their way to fasicst/communist copyright rule inposed by the dictatorship of MPAA/RIAA.

    It shows that Freewill and Free thinking is still present in the EU and has not been polluted by the deranged thoughts of MPAA/RIAA and others with similar agenda.

    I it obvious that soon the U$A will be something similar to the world in Orwells 1984.
    And im not blaming Bu$h, but the coperate infiltrators in the senate.

    1. Re:This shows the truth..... by Suchetha · · Score: 5, Interesting
      And im not blaming Bu$h, but the coperate infiltrators in the senate.
      Actually the greatest blame lies elsewhere..

      The American public are more impressed by a slick PR campaign than by where their pols stand on the issues.. they are willing to vote someone in on name recognition than on a real knowlege of who that person is and what they stand for.. when you need megabucks to pay for a campaign that you may win or lose, then you have to whore yourself out to the highest bidder, and this means the megacorps.. (in my country it's a tad different, they get in and then plunder the treasury.. but the slick campaign remains)

      so its our fault. after all, no one is FORCING us to vote those idiots in. if people were willing to vote responsibly, then there would be no need for slick campaigns, only a willingness to actually work for the good of the people.. until then power to the sheeple!!!

      Suchetha
      --

      learn from yesterday, plan for tomorrow, party tonight
      or one out of three ain't bad
    2. Re:This shows the truth..... by shaitand · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If someone manages to be governor it DOES however mean they are a puppet. Schwarenagger isn't competent, his puppeteers are.

  2. Opportunity for informed debate by saphena · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This will give the EU a much needed opportunity to consider the issues properly with the benefit of major campaigning forces on BOTH sides of the arguments instead of just the big boys arguing for unlimited patentability.

  3. Thanks so much, by avocade · · Score: 4, Interesting

    everyone in the EU (and around the world, I'm sure) who helped in driving this decision through. I was a bit worried at the end, but this shows that democracy can still work.

    I sent a handful of faxes in myself to some of the more critical MEP's, and some emails to the Swedish government explaining my position. While that was the most I could do with my resources and time, it would certainly be interesting to see how far other people went to further this cause :)

    --
    avocade.com
    In a free and open internet, who needs Windows
    1. Re:Thanks so much, by jez99 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, I kept tuned txs to the FFII, and emailed with very polite and personalized texts to both the two spanish members of the JUI (One was against patent, the other was in favor of it). I also posted in the official web page. That was not too much, but, you see, I had this thinking yesterday. Why is it so important what 'media' says? (newspaper and so on), and why does politicians care about it?? It is not because of the 'power' of the media. They don't have any by themselves. The can't lobby, they don't use to have much money, neither contacts. Their power is based on the people who read them, because they can change their mind. And why politicians are afraid people change it's mind? becaouse that people may not vote them, or may talk to another about it, etc ... So, If you post a politician, you're getting over the whole 'media-in-the-middle' proccess. One always expect the media to cover one's concerns, in the hope that that can change it. Anyway, if one just post it straight to the politician, he may get the same result .... Whoa! sorry for this amount of 'nothing'.

  4. great victory by cg0def · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Patents are necessary however not in the state and form that they are now. I personally belive that there should be a databas of who invented what however, there is no way that a coumpany should be allowed to charge anybody for using technology that the first company owns just the pattent for. Sure if you make your money off of something that you invented then you would like other companies that use the same technology to pay you. However, if you no longer use a pattent or you are a company that goes arround and buys patents for profit this sux. I think that companies whose treat patents as assets should be illegal. Pattents exist to protect a company's means of income and not to create ways of legasing mafia like behavior.

    I really hope that one day patents become just a registry of who invented what when ... a true open source society.

    1. Re:great victory by pesc · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Pattents exist to protect a company's means of income

      I disagree.

      Patents are monopolies handed out by the government. The original reason we allow the monopolies is that we want the technology behind the patent to be exposed rather than kept secret. This way, the public gets a benefit from handing out the monopoly, the knowledge in technology can advance.

      Since I'm pro free market, I'm very much against monopolies. I would rather have the companies compete. The company that can produce the best products win, in an open competition. We should not pass laws to protect the income of companies. If they can't earn it, too bad! That said, I can tolerate patents if they are truly inventive. And helps progress. Tolerate!

      However, when it comes to software we need to understand that it is not technological but mathematical. Software is written, not manufactured. And since it is written we have copyright protection for it. You protect cars and machinery by patents, not copyright. You protect films, books and software by copyrights, not patents. With software patents, the author of software texts is denied his right to publish his independently created works.

      --

      )9TSS
  5. Sure it is. by Max+Threshold · · Score: 4, Interesting

    F/OSS may very well dominate the marketplace by the time this bill comes back around. If that's the case, then every business and government that relies on F/OSS will be lobbying against it. It'll never pass.

  6. Re:Reassuring by prodangle · · Score: 5, Interesting
    no matter if you are a free software believer, an open source pragmatist, or a proprietary zealot


    What if you just like to use what you regard as the best and most economical tool for the job?

    I strongly disagree with Software patents, but I wouldn't put myself into any of your 3 categories - not everyone bases their software choices on political views.


    Sorry to be a pedant :)