“During his keynote speech at the European Linux 2000 conference
in London, Cox said that pressure from America to introduce
US-style software regulations would have disastrous results for the
European software industry.”
“In Europe it is possible to patent a complex software
system but not elementary or abstract aspects of that system. In
contrast the US allows specific parts of a software system to be
patented. The EU is currently debating doing the same. It is
expected to issue a directive by the third or fourth quarter.”
“In the current US environment it would be impossible to build
the Internet. In Europe, at the moment we have fairly sane patents
for software but the EU is lobbying hard to introduce similar laws
and it is very important that people try to fight this,” he says.
Cox goes further, suggesting the main reason WAP has not been a
success in the US is because of draconian patenting
regulations.”