“The Eurolinux Alliance of European software companies and
Open Source associations launches a pan-European petition to keep
Europe free from software patents. This petition is receiving
growing support from commercial software publishers in Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy,
Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.”
“Together with this petition, the EuroLinux Alliance publishes
“The EuroLinux File on Software Patents”
[http://petition.eurolinux.org/reference/] a document which lets
everyone understand in less than 15 minutes the dangers posed by
software patents. This document, based on thorough economical and
legal analysis, exhibits clear evidences of the negative impact of
software patents on innovation and competition. It shows that the
European Commission has mainly taken into account the point of view
of patent attorneys, dominant players in the electronic industry
and recent rulings of the United States Patent Office, leaving away
the point of view of innovative European software publishers. Also,
the decision making process at the European Commission does not
seem to implement provisions of the Rome Treaty calling for a high
level of competition, consumer protection, public safety,
industrial growth and cultural diversity in Europe.”
“Frank Hoen, President of NetPresenter, a Dutch company which
invented Internet push technology, warns: “financial analysts
should be aware that the software patent system, as it has evolved
in the US, does generate many costly legal disputes but does not
succeed in protecting real software inventors or investors. It is a
system which allows companies with a strong legal team, and often
no merit, to rip-off or block innovative companies. As it has been
highlighted by MIT and Harvard economists, a system based on
copyright, or copyright-like sui generis Law, protects investment
in software technologies much better than the current US patent
system.”