EU decision on Software Patent Law

[naveenchandran]

The European Parliament's request for a proposed software patent law to be scrapped and started from scratch was ratified by senior members of the Parliament on Thursday, but campaigners from both sides are split on what will happen next.

The proposed law would make allow software to be patented in the European Union. Under current law, software cannot be patented in the 25-nation EU, though there have been some cases where patents have been granted for certain inventions that make use of software. The bill has been extremely controversial.

Critics of the legislation say it would harm small software developers who lack big companies' legal muscle. Some also fear it would restrict the amount of open-source software, which is available for free.

Big industry players argue the current conditions do not allow them to protect inventions they spend years developing.

Source:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5582079.html

[rachitar]

All i can say is that patenting is a bad thing(yes i was there at Richard Stallman's lecture)
It hampers the growth of the country.
There has been pressure on India by companies like Microsoft,IBM to introduce the patent law.
The companies are giving the threat that either we introduce the patent laws or else the wont expand or establish in India
Actually we dont need them and this patent law
But it seems that due to some crooked politicians for there own vested interest are gonna take down the country with the patent law

[naveenchandran]

Originally Posted by rachitar

There has been pressure on India by companies like Microsoft,IBM to introduce the patent law.

Does IBM even gives pressure to introduce patent law??

[GNUrag]

Originally Posted by naveenchandran

Does IBM even gives pressure to introduce patent law??

IBM is the big daddy of all companies. It probably has the largest numbers of patent rights in its name. But nowadays it seems to be quite opensource friendly.

[naveenchandran]

Software Patents Provoke Demonstrations In Europe

Battle lines are hardening between interests for and against software patents in Europe. Meanwhile, demonstrators took to the streets in Brussels to protest against software patents.

Battle lines are hardening between interests for and against software patents in Europe, as the EU Parliament dismissed a bill that would have allowed software to be patented liberally. Meanwhile, demonstrators took to the streets in Brussels to protest against software patents.

As expected, the Parliament on Thursday threw out an existing patent directive, paving the way for the entire issue to be examined again from scratch.

Florian Mueller, campaign manager for an anti-patents organization, hailed the decision in an email, noting that Germany's Bundestag also passed a directive in support of the EU Parliament stance.

While the issue concerns software companies and developers pretty much across-the-board, software patents in Europe are polarized, on one hand, by Microsoft--whose lobbyists have supported the existing patenting process--and, on the other hand, by Mueller's www.nosoftwarepatents.org effort, which is supported by open-source companies Red Hat and MySQL among others.

The issue is expected to get a thorough airing over the coming months, as the two sides marshal their arguments anew.

In a sign that the issue is gaining attention, hundreds of demonstrators from several European countries converged on Brussels to protest software patents. The demonstration was organized by the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII).

Source: http://www.informationweek.com/story...cleID=60402250