Should Europe have software patents? The discussion is back in full force. After the European Parliament rejected patents on software in 2005, things went quiet for a while. Now the European Parliament is about to decide on setting up a single patent for Europe, known as the “unitary patent”. This is a chance to get Read more »
Tuesday saw has been involved for ten years now, after Microsoft had finally released interoperability information after years of dragging its feet, and the Commission had fined the company the record amount of EUR 899 million. But yesterday saw the parties back in Luxembourg, in a hearing room on the eight floor of the European Read more »
The sale of Novell’s patents to a consortium Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and EMC raises serious concerns about competition in the software market. This is why FSFE filed its concerns with the German competition authorities on December 22, as did others. CPTN has apparently withdrawn its application with the authorities for now.
Software should not be patentable, anywhere. But what to do about those unfortunate jurisdictions where software patents are currently allowed? At the World Intellectual Property Organisation, FSFE pushes to at least put in place a working system to challenge patents. The goal of getting rid of patents on software entirely remains the same.
This week, the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents is meeting in Geneva. From FSFE’s perspective, the two most important points on the agenda are the relation between standards and patents, and limitations to patentability. We’ll go into details in the coming days. On patents and standards, one obvious point is that Free Read more »
The Samba team’s excellent Jeremy Allison writes about the problem that Mono poses for Free Software. The core problem is that Mono implements technology that is very likely patented by Microsoft. Microsoft, in its turn, has now started to aggressively enforce its software patents, as shown by its lawsuit against TomTom earlier this year. Jeremy Read more »
Ist doch immer schön, mal einen frischen Blick auf das eigene Täglich-Brot-Thema zu kriegen.
After Nobel prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and John Sulston last week, now the Wall Street Journal carries an article about the problem that the patent system has become. It’s US-focused, but it pretty neatly outlines how the debate on a mild patent reform there sets the pharmaceutical industry against technology companies: Yet the fault line Read more »
Last week brought truly good news. After two years of negotiations, it looks like the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) may finally turn into an organisation that works for the interest of society at large, rather than just those of a small group of major holders of intellectual monopolies. Last week’s meeting of the “Provisional Read more »
IP-Watch reports that Sisule Musungu, a key expert of the international community discussing copyright and patent reform, has been asked to leave his position yesterday without warning. He was the head of the South Centre’s Innovation and Access to Knowledge programme. In this function, he worked hard to give more weight to the interests of Read more »