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Re: [Fsfe-uk] Software patent tactics
From: |
Chris Lale |
Subject: |
Re: [Fsfe-uk] Software patent tactics |
Date: |
Thu, 29 May 2003 13:44:01 +0100 |
User-agent: |
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.0.2) Gecko/20030208 Netscape/7.02 |
Just before Christmas 2002 I wrote to the LibDem MEP Graham Watson. As a
result, he put down a parliamentary written question (E3927/02). See
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/OM-Europarl?PROG=WQ&L=EN&PUBREF=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2002-3927+0+DOC+SGML+V0//EN&LEVEL=3&NAV=S
The question was slightly confused, but still useful:
'What can the Commission do to ensure that its proposals for the
patenting of software do not deprive internet users of the benefit of
superior applications and operating systems developed through "free" and
"open source" software?'
The answer was somewhat self-contradictory, starting with:
'Computer software as such is excluded from patentability under the
European Patent Convention and the laws of the Member States, and the
Commission has no intention of changing this situation.'
and then proceding to say the opposite.
Anybody writing to MEPs may find some useful quotes here. Its a
<SHUDDER> 'Word' </SHUDDER> document.
Chris.
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