EU Gears Up for Another Patent Fight

DirkFromEurope writes "Heise Online is reporting on the Digital Europe meeting of the Progress & Freedom Foundation in Prague. From the article: 'Proponents for a broadening of industrial property rights in the computer sector have declared a new round in the fight about software patents in the EU opened. "It starts again", announced Günther Schmalz, head of SAP's software department.' Günther also 'expressed hope that his camp will be better prepared this time than during the last struggle. A "bridge position" must be reached, which both sides could live with.'"

Comments

Software Patents Are very good for the US economy

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you Europe for wanting to pay exhorbitant taxes/royalties almost entirely to US companies (Microsoft/IBM/Oracle) and keeping the US economy afloat.

I can't understand why in the world you'd want to suck your economy and tech industry dry just to ship money over to the US - but as a citizen here, I thank you.

Re: Software Patents Aren't Bad

[Black Parrot]

> If you're going to steal comments from Previous Articles, you could at least copy the formatting properly.

Ah, but they weren't patented, so he can use them however he pleases!

Re: I've had enough!

[Barbara, not Barbie]

"I'm going to patent cooking!"

That may actually be possible "if" the US patent reform bill is passed. In the name of reducing the number of lawsuits it grants the rights to first-to-patent rather than to any actual inventor, so it seems that anything not already on the books will be patentable. Cooking, the wheel, your favorite sex position...

That's just patently insane (okay, bad pun) But now that I think of it, I could patent:

1. cooking, so the patent nuts can starve to death,
2. the wheel, so that they learn that what goes around comes around
3. my favourite sex position(s), so their only option will be to "go ***k themselves"

It would also keep them from reproducing, removing people with obviously genetically inferior brain cell from the gene pool.

You know, this could end up being a "Good Thing" :-)

Bridge Position on virginity

[xixax]

"Yes sir, while I may have compromised your daughter, I really do hope we can agree on a bridge position regarding her virginity"