EU dumps software patent bill
p2pnet.net News:- “I just love it,” wrote a p2pnet reader in February on the news that Microsoft boss Bill Gates had, according to reports, threatened workers if the Danish government opposed the European Computer Implemented Inventions Directive.
“The US has the most corrupt implementation of Patenting and Copyright laws on earth, and instead of fixing them, (because government and large corporations are getting richer and richer from it) they are ramming it down every other country’s throat, and threatening those that refuse with sanctions, or trade barriers, or even disrupting their economies if they don’t follow suit,” the post went on..
But the poster should be feeling a lot happier with the news that, contrary to all expectations, the European Parliament voted 648 to 14 to throw the directive out.
“The assembly opposed U.S.-style limits on free software and ruled out a compromise with European Union governments, which endorsed the legislation in March,” says Bloomberg News.
“We buried a bad law and did so without flowers,” Eva Lichtenberger, an Austrian Green, is quoted as saying “The legislation would have hindered the development of small companies and helped big businesses because they are the only ones that can afford patent lawyers and litigation costs.”
But, the defeat is “a missed opportunity,” said Mark MacGann, director general of the European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Association.
The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) described this decision as a "great victory for those who have campaigned to ensure that European innovation and competitiveness is protected from monopolisation of software functionalities and business methods," says ZDNet UK, adding:
"While many SMEs, free software advocates and software developers have spoken out against the directive from the start, various large companies have lobbied for the directive, often via campaign groups such as the Business Software Alliance, EICTA, CompTIA and the Campaign for Creativity."
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
See:-
threatened workers – Gates blackmailed Danish gv’ment, p2pnet, February 15, 2005
Bloomberg News – EU Parliament Rejects Patent Law Backed by Technology Companies, July 6, 2005
ZDNet UK – Software patent directive rejected, July 6, 2005
July 6th, 2005 at 6:49 pm
When you looked at who supported & opposed this legislation it was a no-brainer to figure out which outcome would be better for the public. I wish US lawmakers would remember that their job is to represent the people first, and stop giving big biz all the breaks and the bucks. Thank you EU Parliament!
July 6th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
The US has all but become the whore to big business when it comes to making laws favoring them. With what is out there now already on the books it is a sad day to see what I served in the service to protect being sold to the highest bidder. That is hardly freedom nor is the results supportive of those freedoms. One reader and commentor here calls the US the PSA (Police States of America) and I suspect he is closer to the mark than most of us know. I have never been much of a conspiracy nut but more and more I wonder if I might not be wrong. Any time you get the lawmakers highroading through bill after bill without proper discussion prior to voting there is something that can’t stand the light of day in it or the process would be different. It seems to be the method of voting new legislation into law now as a rule rather than the occasional.
No wonder the republic party had such a long dry spell without being the lead party. Understand I don’t like either of the parties in this system. The names are different but they have some common themes between them. Both have done their best to imply without actually stating that if you vote for an independent candidate you are throwing your vote away. Only thing is if you don’t vote for an independent because you believe in that particlar candidate then you have truly thrown it away, as there will never be any sort of change. Our lawmakers are so busy playing politics that they can’t think of what is good for the country. Instead they ham it up for the camera and play backroom deals out of the view of the camera. I am not to sure that the camera did us citizens any favors.
At any rate it appears that our legal system is for sale to the highest bidder and bidding is active. The price is high enough that Joe Citizen can not particpate in the influence. I look on my country with sad eyes seeing what I knew and grew to love go down the tubes. This isn’t the same as what I grew to expect and love. There is little love remaining for what exists today. You are either part of the system or you are out. Looks like I am out.
July 8th, 2005 at 2:19 pm
Good points.
The rich get richer.