EU rejects software patents!

[Jack]

This is great news for all of us who use Linux and Open Source software.

In a 648-14 vote (with 18 abstentions), the European Parliament has voted against the controversial 'Computer-implemented Inventions Directive' on its second reading. EU lawmakers stated that software patents could limit innovation, cause difficulties for businesses and that human knowledge cannot be patented. This is a great win for open source advocates, many of whom have campaigned against the directive, and the EU Commission (which had drafted the bill) has no plans to produce a new version. The massive vote in favour of rejecting the bill is explained by various machinations in the run-up to the vote. The Parliament had outlined 21 ammendments which it wanted to apply to the directive, which would have effectively changed the meaning of the directive, making the common position in Europe against innate patentability of software. Rather than go through the motions of 21 votes on the ammendments, and an unclear outcome, both pro and anti software patent MEPs instead decided to reject the whole bill. Whilst this still leaves Europe without a common position, it is definitely a great win for the anti-patent lobby. There will be more to discuss on patents, but this landmark decision is a victory for open source and European democaracy. Let the partying begin!

[asterix404]

This is really nice, YES I can't wait till windows goes open source, though there is a heuge difference between a patent and not publicly releacing the source. LONG LIVE OPEN SOURCE!

[Aaron Spicka]

Knowledge should not be sensored because if it is allowed with something like this it can only get worse from that point on; it would not stop there. I two - LONG LIVE OPEN SOURCE!

[Mr.Vicchio]

Yeah long live mediocrity, theft and death of innovation!

Long live penis envy! (I.E. the no patents EU!)

If I were any company out to ya know.. make a product, I would never sell another product in the EU region again. EVER. Why? Because hey, anyone can steal your hardwork and use it as thier own!

Let the free-sellers have the EU, it's thier ball of wax now.

[Jack]

the no patents EU

No software patents. I presume you haven't been following this subject. But thanks for your opinion.

[Mr.Vicchio]

I have been TYVM, this is all about envy over Microsoft, and don't say it ain't. Yes I am sorry the subject is software patatents, and I didn't put "software" in there. Oh I must not understand what's going on...

Get real man.

[Samildanach]

648 - 14 is a highly significant majority. It also reverberates with the feel of Europe. Patents are restricting and having no patents allows for people to muck around and play with software to their hearts content knowing they dont have to worry about all that crap. Especially if there is a market in the US for good software. They can just invent it in Europe with no restrictions, patent it in the US and sell it there if they want to make a profit.
Why crap in your own back yard when you can just utilise someone elses who already has crap all over the place...you get to keep your own clean.

[Mr.Vicchio]

You guys crack me up.

"Software patents..." protect those that spend the time effort and money to make things, in this case software.

Now you have removed the legal barrier between a producer of software and theives.

And why? Because you guys hate MS, that much.

Good going! I hope MS pulls outta Europe, as well as most software related companies. Who'd want to spend the money to make software.. say like the UnReal Engine, only to have it stolen in Europe because.. .hey everything is open source now!

You watch, the big software companies are gonna run from the EU region faster then you can "state sponsored Piracy"

[Pooeypants]

Mr V, we're fan of PC games right? Well, how would you like it if they were allowed patents on generic game mechanics? Just how much variety do you think we'd be able to get?
I think you've misunderstood what this ruling is about and making a huge fuss over nothing. Perhaps your hatred of Europe is blinding you once more?

[G. Adams]

Quote by: Mr.Vicchio You watch, the big software companies are gonna run from the EU region faster then you can "state sponsored Piracy"

With the amount of money spent on software in Europe, no serious producer would pull out of the EU zone. If one did, someone would step in to take there place, so it's no loss to us Europeans. All the patents would do is protect the biggest companies profit and stop the widespread small scale innovations that go on, which would be a greater loss. This should make the companies create better products, because it will increase competition.

[Samildanach]

Precisely, also if big companies did pull out of Europe all that would happen is their software would be uploaded to peer to peer modifed and used anyway, much better to have a company in Europe which creates a revenue stream, might not be as much as it potentially could be but thems the breaks.

[Mr.Vicchio]

So you're all good with software companies having no legal protection from others taking thier hard work and using it for thier own ends.

Remind me NOT to make anything around you. You might feel you are obliged to take from me and use for your own ends. Nevermind you did none of the hard work, or that I did such to earn a living... hey what does that matter right?

[Mr.Vicchio]

Quote by: Pooeypants Mr V, we're fan of PC games right? Well, how would you like it if they were allowed patents on generic game mechanics? Just how much variety do you think we'd be able to get? I think you've misunderstood what this ruling is about and making a huge fuss over nothing. Perhaps your hatred of Europe is blinding you once more?

I have no hatred of Europe, so please don't try that bullshit on me okay?

I haven't misunderstood anything. This ruling keeps companies from Patenting software. I.E. If I spend 50 million to make software, and I sell it in the EU I have no portiection from you, or anyone else taking that software and using it "open source"

Sure if I make Doomaggeddon, they cannot take the game, change the title and resell it, but if I create a software engine, you can use that without asking. It's open source.

I think you don't see the ramifications here.

[Samildanach]

Sounds fair to me. You get the profits of Doomaggeddon, which would be considerable.
The engine should be up for grabs or you could sell it along with the game and charge a little more.
After all the game engines are evolving over time as well. If you declared your engine to be open source then people become more likely to buy it from you as they know they will own the product and have the right to modify it and try to make it better.

[Savant]

wewt! Patents are teh suxxors

[Mr.Vicchio]

Why would anyone buy the source engine when they could take it for free?

Okay lets try this one last time.

Lets say Joe and Moe spend thier life savings in and several years writting a new net code that allows streaming video real time even over a 56k line. It's revolutionary. They want to be compensated for this I.E. make money. But what company is going go to spend the money to purchase this when it has no legal protection in Europe?

"Gee guys, that's really awesome, but we'll just bypass you and take the code open source, since you cannot patent it, why should we pay you?"

[Samildanach]

Why would anyone buy the source engine when they could take it for free?

why does anyone donate money to anyone? why do people buy software when they could get it through peer to peer for free? why do people still buy cd's? because they recognise someone has created something of value and they want to fund them so they can still create something of value in the future.

But what company is going go to spend the money to purchase this when it has no legal protection in Europe?

Simple. They register a company in America and patent it there. Therefore it cannot be used in America without someone licensing the patent. they would make more than enough money off your greedy economy to make it worthwhile. Think of the EU sales if any as a bonus. :)

[Jack]

I fail to understand or appreciate, Mr.Vicchio, why you come into this thread so hostile and insulting of those of us who have an opinion different from yours. If you hope to bully me into agreement you're wrong.
It's not just us Linux fans and P2P users who are backing this. From c|net news in 2003:

A group of high-ranking scientists is petitioning the European Parliament to prevent the patenting of algorithms and software ideas, the latest twist in the European Commission's attempts to create a unified patent regime for member states. The petition, signed by scientists from around Europe, was delivered Monday, ahead of a vote by the European Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (JURI), which is the latest committee to examine the commission's patent proposal. The fate of the proposed patent plan could have a dramatic effect on the way software is developed in the EU, with many developers and small businesses fearing a U.S.-style system in which large companies with thousands of software-related patents are able to force smaller competitors to pay for intellectual property licenses. Thirty-one scientists, including three from Britain, signed the petition earlier this month, criticizing the proposal and demanding that the European parliament adopt a text that would "make impossible, clearly, for today and tomorrow, any patenting of the underlying ideas of software (or algorithms), of information processing methods, of representations of information and data, and of interaction between human beings and computers." Those rallying against software patents, including the petitioning scientists and the 143,000 people who have so far signed a similar petition organized by the EuroLinux Alliance, fear that an increasing number of software-related patents will increase the sway of large patent-holding companies over small software developers. "(Software patents) would be not only useless, but also extremely harmful, because they would cast in concrete the so-powerful oligopolies that naturally emerge in information-based industries," the petition said.

From the Financial Times:

However, the directive fell hostage to a debate on whether inventions that rely on software - let alone pure software such as Microsoft's Windows operating system - should be patentable at all. Many members of the parliament believed that the directive should endorse a restrictive approach, while others were swayed by the arguments of big technology groups which insisted that patents were good for innovation and competitiveness. Unable to find a balance, parliamentarians (MEPs) voted by 648 to 14 to reject the directive. Josep Borrell, president of the parliament, said the rejection was the most decisive majority vote in the history of the chamber. Lawyers said the move would have little impact on companies seeking patent protection for their inventions. Julian Potter, a patent attorney and partner at Mintz Levin in London, said: "Patents for software have been granted in Europe for decades. The European Patent Office alone has granted over 30,000 patents in this area. That can now continue and the important message today is that patents are still available for software." Rudy Provoost, the chief executive of Philips Consumer Electronics, said: "This result means that our innovation... will continue to benefit from patents in the face of growing competition from China and elsewhere." Ericsson, the Swedish technology group, said: "The rejection of the directive means nothing will change. We will still apply for patents the same way we have done previously." It added that some proposed amendments would have removed patent protection for "almost anything we do".

[Mr.Vicchio]

I am agianst devauling the work of others.

Patents are protection from theft. That's my opinion. I am hostile because the impetus of this is just hate towards Microsoft. I am no huge fan of MS, but I am thinking the longer view. Profits are what makes the world tick, not "good feelings"

[Jack]

Don't get all your exercise from jumping to conclusions.
I not only dual-boot every computer I own with XP Pro and various flavors of Linux, but I also belong to several Microsoft developers and leaders networks. Just because I'm pro Linux does not automatically mean I'm anti-Microsoft.
But there is a problem with large companies (like MS...and this is even discussed there) buying up patents on intellectual concepts, words, basic computing functions, then locking them up so your only realistic option is to pay licensing fees. Have you been keeping up with the JPEG debacle? Case in point. It's gotten out of hand, and now the EU has taken a stand against its spread.