Europe: No patents for software

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From another confused sexagenarian

It would be hard to argue against the necessity of profit to sustain business and attract capital, as the basis for the prosperity that has nurtured us for these many decades. And as for a workman being worthy of his hire, I assume you're referring to the lawyers who benefit from the proliferation of patents - actually, there is plenty of good, meaningful work in other fields.

There is little to suggest that software patents ensure the benefits that seem to be implicit in your posts.

A certificate of indeterminate value - a software patent - does little to ensure companies earning profits so that they can stay in business paying salaries to employees consistently over a period of time. The patent grants you a license to prevent other parties from making or using your invention. It does not indemnify you against other patents you may have infringed, nor does it guarantee that your patent will not be overturned by prior art disclosed in prior literature. While this is the condition pertains in all of the patentable arts, it is particularly noteworthy regarding software patents, because there is no workable classification or search system for purely algorithmic software.

As the Federal Trade Commission study notes, the "patent thicket" resulting from unfettered software patenting could very well have a suppressive, rather than positive, effect on establishment and sustainment of software businesses, with a net negative impact on employment. Fortunately for the industry, software patents have, in the main, so far enjoyed the obscurity they so richly deserve. But again, don't underestimate the legal establishment's ability to make mischief.

Underlying the whole question of software patents is the suppposed societal benefit of granting patents for software. The theory is that an inventor makes substantial investment of time or money to bring a new invention into the economy and needs the protection of a patent as incentive for making that investment. Software requires little capital investment and virtually no time and capital to productize. There is no evidence anyone has cited to me that the onset of software patents did anything to accelerate the industry, or that anyone had held back any software products when the only protection available amounted to copyright, code obscurity and speed to market.

Maybe it's the case of old dog, new trick. But then again I never caught on to the "new economy" either - and I was 10 years younger then.

Posted by: IT_User   Posted on: 05/25/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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