Δευτέρα, Ιουνίου 27, 2005

European software patents







It should come as no surprise that the process for the adoption of US-style software patents in Europe is progressing. There is considerable lobbying from major software companies to that effect.

I am not a lawyer and I cannot provide a reliable analysis of the proposed framework. However, I do know that several open source and free software efforts are threatened by patent laws. This is an important problem.

My experience in the Biomedical sciences shows that in the long term the zealous patent holders only serve to aggravate the problem by inflating the costs of research. The end result is that every respectable lab or university tries to acquire patents in order to economically survive and afford the (patent-encumbered) expensive research materials. Repeat this process and see where it leads...

In my mind, the advancement of human knowledge and the benefit of society at large take precedence over individual or corporate rights and benefits. I'd rather have some companies (or even individuals) temporarily deprived of their rightful privilege to patent intellectual property than allow the premature adoption of an ill-formed directive that puts science and free software at risk. Patent holders can wait until a good solution has been found.

For that reason, I think that the current EU patent proposition should be re-evaluated. I understand that the EU does need a central patent mechanism. I understand that the current system is inadequate. However, I'm not convinced that the proposed directive is a satisfactory solution.

I urge my EU readers (not that I have many readers, but anyway...) to consider the matter carefully and act accordingly.

Many details can be found in the excellent Europa site. This page contains lots of related information.

Also click this link for some (admittedly biased) information.



PKT