European Parliament Clashes Over Software Patents 213
D4C5CE writes "The European Parliament's Daily Notebook reports on the turbulent final plenary debate this morning regarding a draft Directive
to legalize Software Patents (which are currently unlawful under Art.52 (2) (c) of the European Patent Convention). The Notebook quotes some truly bizarre views and arguments (which no doubt you'll take the time to point out to Members of the European Parliament before tomorrow's
vote), with some MEPs even claiming to feel harassed because they are suddenly also being lobbied by numerous concerned citizens, rather than solely by industry representatives as usual."
Could be worse... (Score:3, Insightful)
Ah, hopefully things will go well and all these great software projects (and their home pages) will go back to normal!
Re:Interesting. (Score:2, Insightful)
Describing your opinion to an aide in the lobby after waiting for hours to talk to someone = Harassment
Re:Read the text! (Score:1, Insightful)
The fact that she's having to claim to be against software patents IS a good thing, it means she'll have a harder time opposing amendments that are genuinely designed to keep software patents illegal. She WILL continue to oppose all such efforts though. The longer she plays her two-faced game the more people will see through her. Hopefully it'll be enough.
For one thing it's not a non issue to them (Score:4, Insightful)
If all that matters is the mere glorious victory, well, then find a cave and have your victory there. It's not going to happen. A small win is a win even if it only means less of a loss.
So perhaps we can finally be a little positive about this. OSS has a lobby. It is being heard. More importantly it's being listened to and more people seem to be understanding what's at stake. That's quite something.
Balance of power - State vs People ( go EU ! ) (Score:4, Insightful)
I never realized that so many sites could be / would be affected and will join the protest against this.
I would not have been aware of this unless there is this thing called INTERENET and EU people contributed a major portion of GPL Software.
If this works out, then, it will show that the "Europe" is still probably the place where people have the voice and can make a difference.
Balance of power between state and people is getting one sided in US--unfortunately. Before the IRAQ war more than 40% of the people in US actually thought that there is a connection between IRAQ/WMD/Terrorist etc. etc. Govt. is too strong compared to the people at this point to pull this and still stay in power.
(I supported the war anyway--this type of dictators need beating--well so is Pakistan/North Korea but that's another story).
So, congratulations EU people--you did well.
P.S.
Probably does not make much sense here, but, If you just happen to visit a bookstore, pick up the last issue of Foreign Policy ... read and get depressed.
To all native speakers: (Score:3, Insightful)
Is it just me or is the "innovation/patentability" part not making sense at all? Is this something like "war is predicted through declarability" or more like "rain is predicted through cheese"??
Publicise this BS (Score:5, Insightful)
When election time pass this around to the candite of your choice running against the reps that said this. I'm sure the opposition would be happy to have those quotes.
Re:Interesting. (Score:4, Insightful)
In such situations, the correct thing to do is really to deal the legislation, so that the citizens can sort themselves into groups based on their views and make coherent presentations of their concerns.
Re:you gotta love the European Parliament... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Could be worse... (Score:5, Insightful)
However, the mobile phone argument shows exactly why this is still a bad law. Mobile phones these days are essentially "software plus an antenna". So what happens when we allow people to patent "algorithm X plus an antenna"?
What we get is this: some open source programmer writes algorithm X, and deploys it in a usual fashion. Some patent miscreant then jumps up and says "hey, you're running algorithm X on a laptop with a wireless network card! You're infringing my patent and owe me royalties!".
No, the current "clarifications" are no good. Software patenting must be abolished completely, in all of its forms. If the physical device does not have some unique and novel feature of its own, sans software, then the device should not be patentable. Period.
Re:Bullied and harrased (Score:4, Insightful)
However, I think whatever happened, as long as it was legal and didn't involve threats, that's something that an MEP should put up with without whining about it or calling it "harassment". If McCarthy had received such a response at something, oh, on some directive on child pornography or retirement benefits, I suspect she would not have considered it harassment but mainstream, widespread outrage. If you look at McCarthy's web site, you'll see that this issue isn't featured there prominently (in fact, I didn't see any reference to it at all on the web site).
MEPs need to come to understand that this is something that geeks and technologists are genuinely outraged over. It is something that matters to a lot of people, and it is something they need to take very seriously.
Of course, people trying to contact them should also realize that MEPs still just don't quite get it and perhaps adjust their behavior accordingly.
Re:Interesting. (Score:5, Insightful)
Just today on Fox News Oreilly had a big thing comparing America's teen pregnancy and STD rated to Europes, and then comparing America's Abstinence as the only option approach versus Europes Libertine sex-ed approach. We have four times the pregnancy rate as France and 12 times the ghonnorhea rate as Denmark. F-in Amsterdam where prostitution is legal, and there are more STD cases per 100000 here. WTF? Something isn't working.
Same holds true for binge drinking rates at college and underage drinking rates in the US versus alchohol use and abuse in europe. Suprisingly, toleration of alchohol creates a healthier mentality versus abolition (for those under 21). Exact same issue as sex.
The same holds true for Marijuana use/abuse. Not to mention the waste of money the war on Marijuana is.
Software Patents aren't an idealogy problem like these. They are instead a business vs. consumer problem. Yet, the business vs. consumer stance of europe makes so much more sense than America's sell-out policies.
I'm so disappointed in this puritanical corporate-sell out country. ( I know, if you don't like it, leave). Well maybe I will. I'll live where I'm free to code without fear of the DMCA and where I'm free to read without the government looking up my library records and where my children will get education and we'll all get health care and where my neighbor can smoke a J and it's no big deal because it really isn't a big deal and all that drug war money is instead spent to make life better. Imagine a land where you're free to tinker, and where we're brave enough to allow personal choices. Hmm, how ironic, home of the free and the brave. That should be HERE. That should describe America.
oh well. maybe someday.
Re:Interesting. (Score:4, Insightful)
Actually old bean, at least from where I stand, it is indeed a matter of ideology - the ideology of free speech, freedom to engage in the arts and sciences, freedom to communicate ideas and culture, freedom of thought.
It has been a long time since the failure of your great compatriot, Phil Salin and others to prevent the tragedy of ideas patenting in the U.S. and we Europeans have had the opportunity to prepare for this inevitable onslaught on our fundamental human rights. Yet it looks likely that the forces arrayed against us will prevail anyway.
I call them 'ideas patents' because that is what they really are - I am not primarily a software developer or a businessman but a mathematician and I see software patents from a rather different perspective than has been customary in the 'debates' in the E.U. Parliament. Ever since I first came across the abominations that are the RSA patent and the DHT transform patent and others like them I have become more and more disgusted and horrified at the level of intellect displayed by those charged with the responsibility of formulating and enacting laws on my behalf.
Every debate has centred on the economic consequences of patenting with no attention whatsoever paid to the rights of which I speak. Of course you'd think I needn't worry when a quarter of a million people (mostly programmers) signed a petition against software patents and an organization representing half a million European S.M.Es stated their opposition to them too. So it must be obvious to the MEPs that there isn't even an economic case to be made for patenting software - right?
Wrong! Unfortunately we have to contend with a level of disingenuity, stupidity or underhand venality - I don't know which - capable of making statements like this:
"With regards to calls for abolishing, within the EU, all patents on computer-implemented inventions, EU companies would be at a severe disadvantage in the global market place if they were not able to apply for a patent over their invention."
(From Arlene McCarthy's website). Even a child would laugh at such a cretinous non sequitur - not so your average MEP.
Why not do a Ghandi? (Score:0, Insightful)
Lord_Alex
will of the people (Score:3, Insightful)
What kind of patriot turns tail and runs? I can't stand it when flag-hugging idiots spout that shitty "love it or leave it" copout.
From the evidence I've seen, a country where the decisions are made by "benevolent" multinationals is exactly the kind of place where Americans want to live. Some of the evidence of this comes from our own community.
Why don't we have a PAC capable of going head to head with "the big boys"? Because all of our high-tech millionaires, including the ones who read slashdot would rather put their money into things that give them immediate rewards instead of making the investment required to build a free country that might make it possible to build more profitable products in the future.
Democracy got sold in America to the highest bidder a generation ago. Unfortunately, the highest bidder is run by CEOs whose time horizon is whatever will increase the short-term value of his company enough to trigger his options in the next 90 days.
America is heading for the cliff, and the reaction of the average American voter is to blindly trust the mass media which says that the cliff doesn't exist and that The Man In The White House knows what he's doing and will look after our interests.
Fix it? This isn't "fighting the weather", this is fighting long-term climate change. A democracy whose citizens aren't interested in preserving democracy isn't going to stay one.
You and I can't make citizens want to think for themselves.
Uninteresting slander (Score:1, Insightful)
If you had done your homework instead of insulting the submitter, you'd have found countless reports like this [heise.de]:Or this [out-law.com]... Here's another one (in German though; use the fish). [heise.de]