Software-Patents - Hooray!

A proposed EU Directive against a innovative sector of our economy

EVIL neoliberal ideology!

In the field of industrial patents in particular we shall have seriously to examine whether the award of a monopoly privilege is really the most appropriate and effective form of reward for the kind of risk bearing which investment in scientific research involves.

Friedrich von Hayek,
Individualism and Economic Order, 1948.

This isn't the „real“ view of the industry.

Software industry turned out to be the most innovative sector of our economy despite patent „protection“ in the gray layer of law.

Patents may be good for other industries

We don't need them!

We don't want them!

NOT ONLY Open Source is endangered by patents.

Who?

Donald E. Knuth (legendary American informatician) C't interview 2002

[..]algorithms are like mathematics, i.e. inherently non-patentable. It worries me that most patents are about simple ideas that I would expect my students to develop them as part of their homework.

Old rules!

European Patent Convention Art 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, doing business, and programs for computers;
(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.

That's innovation!

199X: Patent lawyers and EPO revise
interpretation:
EPC 52 (2) applies only to
computer programs
„as such“

Who cares about economists?

German Monopoly Commission, 8.7.2002:

Das EPA schafft [...] einen zusätzlichen Ausschlusstatbestand, der sich aus Wortlaut und Systematik des Art. 52 EPÜ nicht ergibt [...]. Insgesamt hat [...] die nationale Rechtsprechung den Gesetzeswortlaut weitgehend aus den Augen verloren.

„The European Patent Office created [..]new facts of exclusion that cannot be derived from wording and systematics of Art 52(2) EPC [..] In comprehension [..] national jurisdiction lost the original wording of the law.

Finally!

Legalize ex post:

EU Directive on computer-implemented inventions

Someone from the industry!

.. initial directive proposal written by Francisco Mignorance (Business Software Alliance) ...

Ah!

Arlene McCarthy, Guardian Jun 10, 2003, MEP UK labour

„, the EU directive is not proposing to patent all software, it is limited to genuine inventions. Software as such cannot be patented.

Patents

Make a huge difference!

Pirats – a danger to society!

Privateers – legal certainty

Sure!

Arlene McCarth

„This directive will provide legal certainty for European software inventors.“

Let's talk about patents!

Land mines:
Protect and secure
our territory
and our national borders

You'd better look out!

Read them carefully!

Patent businessmen:

Programmers shall read software patent applications

Play minesweepers!

Liar!

The time and money we spend on patent filings, prosecution, and maintenance, litigation and licensing could be better spent on product development and research leading to more innovation. But we are filing hundreds of patents each year for reasons unrelated to promoting or protecting innovation.

Robert Barr (CISCO) 2002

That is: They need patents!

„It's just a game you play.
You compile a portfolio
of patents so you can
trade with other people“

Kurt Akeley, Silicon Graphics

...new jobs for patent attorneys!

Get an „A“ mark!

Article 2 Definitions:

"technical contribution" means a contribution to the state of the art in a technical field which is not obvious to a person skilled in the art.

Experts: swpat directive

Reinier Bakles: „Complicated ...“

EU Directive Com (02) 92 fails on all its proposed goals and messes up the
European legal system.

Follow the US!

Opposed world wide land mine ban

death penalty

patents on software, business methods

That's business!

May 28 2003

35 million US $ penalty

Infringed „buy it now“ patent

It's their IP!

Computerworld (PATRICK THIBODEAU), Dec 2, 2002:

Online businesses face increase in patent-infringement claims

„A growing number of companies are facing patent-infringement lawsuits from patent holders claiming rights to fundamental and commonly used online business processes such as electronic shopping carts.“
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,76297,00.html

Let's go to court!

„These actions are tricky, expensive, and time consuming. According to one trade association, in 1999, the median estimated cost of a patent infringement action through discovery was about $800,000, and through trial and appeal, approximately $1,500,000. Therefore, normally the patent infringers have to be sizeable (Fortune 500® size) corporations and the potential/ likely damages and future royalties have to be in the tens of millions of dollars to justify the invested legal expenses and the possibility of years devoted to winding through the system.“

Harold A. Meyer III, CEO NOVOLIT (IP Company)

EU - Old Europe!

Land mines banned

human right standards against death penalty

EPC - No Software patents!

EUC/BSA: Software patents, YES!

Patent Attorneys: .. and business methods will be patentable too.

That's E-Commerce

Amazon vs. Barnes&Noble

„one-click“ - Patent

Irrelevant minority!

Eurolinux-Petition
(http://noepatents.org)

>145000 signatures against European software patents

Hmm, viral licenses...

Arlene McCarthy

„We have an obligation to legislate not just for one section of the software industry who seeks to impose its business model on the rest of industry, which moreover is not "free", but is actually a different form of monopoly by imposing a copyright licence system on users.“

Harmonisation!

Arlene McCarthy:

It is time some of the "computer rights campaigners" got real. Patents for software inventions will not go away. It is infinitely better for the EU to harmonise laws across the EU with a view to limiting patentability, than to continue with the mess of national courts and European Patent Office (EPO) systems, and the drift towards US patent models.

You'd better look out!

Sleep softly!

MEP Arlene McCarthy: „my "cosmetic" amendments to the European Commission text are proposing a more restrictive interpretation of the law in Europe.“

2003-06-14T01:03:11