[Ilugc] Fwd: EU Software patents directive crushed - More info
- From: sbharathi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Bharathi Subramanian)
- Date: Sun Jul 10 11:12:39 2005
------------------------- Original Message -------------------------
Subject: [Fsf-friends] EU Software patents directive crushed in the
flat new world
From: "Ramanraj K"
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(Well, the credit goes to Sivasankar :)
Great news! The EU software patents bill was crushed by a huge
margin today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4655955.stm
"Software will continue to be patented in Europe as it has been for
the last 30 years," said Dr Collins. Does this mean that software
can be patented in Europe ?
No. In Europe, patents are governed by the European
Patent Convention, as amended from time to time
since 1973.
http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/epc/e/ar52.html#A52
<quote>
Article 52
Patentable inventions
(1) European patents shall be granted for any inventions which are
susceptible of industrial application, which are new and
which involve an inventive step.
(2) The following in particular shall not be regarded as inventions
within the meaning of paragraph 1:
(a) discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
(b) aesthetic creations;
(c) schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing
games or doing business, and programs for computers;
(d) presentations of information.
(3) The provisions of paragraph 2 shall exclude patentability of the
subject-matter or activities referred to in that provision only
to the extent to which a European patent application or
European patent relates to such subject-matter or activities as
such.
(4) Methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or
therapy and diagnostic methods practised on the human or
animal body shall not be regarded as inventions which are
susceptible of industrial application within the meaning of
paragraph 1. This provision shall not apply to products, in
particular substances or compositions, for use in any of these
methods.
</quote>
The above is in accordance with TRIPS Agreement, and as we can
see, computer programs are not patentable in Europe. If there are
any EU patents for software, they are merely invalid and ultra
vires. The whole problem is because a few mega corporations either
won't or can't see the reasons behind these laws, and keep
lobbying every where to introduce patentability for software by
hook or crook.
It is illegal and unlawful to patent computer programs under the
TRIPS Agreement, that came into force 10 years ago. Patents
granted for software in some jurisdictions like US or other select
countries are no longer valid after the TRIPS Agreement came into
effect. If any signatory to the TRIPS treaty has laws that
allow patents for software, then such nations are clearly
in breach of their international obligations, and could be
held liable and answerable. The home for "software patents"
is the US, and some of its corporations that think this as an
easy device to make money out of thin air, have been lobbying in
Europe to give legitimacy to "software patents", and this move
has been defeated recently with an overwhelming majority.
ffii.org leads the battle against these moves in Europe. Nearly
1,934 companies with about 31,488 employees and annual
turnover of 3,258,164,082 EUR, have entrusted the FFII to defend
their interests, which they define at
http://www.economic-majority.com/ as follows:
<quote>
Declaration
Our enterprise is worried about plans to legalise patents on
software solutions ("computer-implemented inventions").
We rely on software copyright. We need to be sure that we own what
we write.
We need to be sure that we can publish and distribute our own programs.
We need to be sure that, as long as we respect the rules of
copyright, we can run any software on any office or network
computer.
We urge legislators to confine the patent system strictly to
the limits of applied natural science. In principle, only knowledge
which had to be obtained through costly experiments with forces
of nature should be eligible for the broad, slow and
expensive monopoly protection which the patent system offers.
</quote>
Our friend Christian at Code Liberty has called 6th of July 2005,
"The Day of Intellectual Independence", on which day, "[t]he
European Parliament has dramatically rejected the software patent
directive, putting an end to the attempt to impose software patent
enforceability on Europe".
More info on these developments is available at:
http://wiki.ffii.org/Ep050706En
http://wiki.ffii.org/AmPlenPr050701En
http://wiki.ffii.org/AmPlenExplanation05En
http://www.codeliberty.org/?fullstory=00040
Now, the US is largely isolated and alone on this issue.
FAREED ZAKARIA has reviewed the book titled "THE WORLD IS FLAT:
A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" by Thomas L.
Friedman at:
http://query.nytimes.com/search/article-printpage.html?res=9D07E6DB1731F932A35756C0A9639C8B63
The reviewer notes that "China and India loom large in
Friedman's story because they are the two big countries benefiting
most from the flat world". He further says:
<quote>
The ultimate challenge for America -- and for Americans -- is
whether we are prepared for this flat world, economic and
political. While hierarchies are being eroded and playing fields
leveled as other countries and people rise in importance
and ambition, are we conducting ourselves in a way that
will succeed in this new atmosphere? Or will it turn out that,
having globalized the world, the United States had forgotten to
globalize itself?
</quote>
It is most tragic that the US has been deaf to what RMS has
been crusading and campaigning for the past many years. The
freedom of people to use the digital medium with utmost liberty
will largely determine the very fate and future of nations. It is
not too late to make amends, and change policies towards
having sane laws and practices. HTH.
Regards,
Ramanraj. K
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