[Fsfe-ie] Software patents in Europe
Ian Clarke
ian at locut.us
Sat May 8 14:41:10 CEST 2004
Dear Sir,
There was a time when anybody with a good idea, a computer, and a bit of
knowledge could create a new piece of software, but if the EU Council of
Ministers gets its way, software innovation in Europe will become a very
costly business indeed.
Last September the European Parliament listened to the concerns of
software innovators and amended the software patent directive to prevent
patents on pure software, but now, in a stunningly anti-democratic move,
the Council of Ministers is trying to throw out these amendments. They
are doing this under pressure from large multinational corporations who
will be able to use their vast hoard of software patents to attack
smaller European competitors.
Information technology has changed the world over the past few decades,
and it did it without software patents. Will the Council put the wishes
of European innovators above those of powerful vested interests?
Your Sincerely,
Ian Clarke.
Chief Executive Officer, Cematics Ltd.
Phone (not for publication): +44 131 555 9390.
More information about the FSFE-IE
mailing list