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European Parliament Rejects Software Patents
heretic9 writes "The European Parliament unanimously rejected the software patent bill recently put before it. Hugo Lueders of CompTIA, a pro-patent lobby group, said that the benefits of the bill had been obscured by special interest groups, which muddied debate about the rights and wrongs of software patents." Meaning, essentially, that the Conference of Presidents got its way.
They will only give up when software patents are legal. This is going to be a LONG fight.
And I just don't get why Europe would EVER legalize software patents. Right now they are legal in Australia, India, the US, and Japan. So basically, right not, Europe is the only place in the industrialized world which can do something simple like include a help icon in its software.
Without software patents, Europe will become a Mecca of software development!
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
a pro-patent lobby group, said that the benefits of the bill had been obscured by special interest groups, which muddied debate about the rights and wrongs of software patents
How dare they discuss the bad points about software patents. Isn't the pro-patent lobby group a special interest group? What makes them think they have a right to present their views, while groups which are against software patents do not?
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
There is a clear requirement that the current patent laws in EU be cleared up! It is quite obscure and vague on some points and this has actually allowed for software patents to get through, just check the iiff.org website.
The discussion is not whether new and uniform patent legislation accross EU is needed. It is about the content.
The pros want EU to align with USA, in many other areas, aligning laws with important trade partners is beneficial for all parties. But with the development in USA in this case, the benefits of such alignment can be disputed.
Unfortunately the continual rejections and attempts to force through a particular piece of paper has now become a dispute about democracy and who has the power - attention seems to be shifted away from the original content.
I am looking forward for the process to restart so the discussion can get back on track.
But those same people aren't held responsible when the corporation harms someone or breaks the law. Limited liability gives investors all of the freedom and none of the responsibility that would normally go with a free market.