[Fsfe-ie] Bloodcurdlingly pro-swpat speech from Pat Cox, former MEP

[James Heald]

For whatever reason, the Irish representatives have been taking far and 
away the most uncompromising line in Council of Ministers' working group 
of "patent experts".   Even more than Germany and Hungary, they are 
blocking any change, not even prepared to consider even eg RAND 
licensing for interoperability, never mind patent exemptions.



Also notable is this extraordinarily pro-swpat speech by Pat Cox, former 
MEP and EP president, which was possibly ghost-written by Microsoft 
front-organisation CompTIA:

http://www.softwarechoice.org/download_files/eBusiness_Innovation_PatCoxSpeech.pdf



Pat Cox at the European Innovation conference, 27 May 2005

     Do European lawmakers seriously expect that (digital
       innovation) will continue apace in the EU if these
       innovations are to be deprived of economic remuneration?

     Is this really the moment to squander the fruits of Europe’s
      knowledge economy and human capital? Will we really
      invite others to dine on our European lunch free of charge
      only to pay dearly and later for takeaway dinners?

     What is being tested in this (CII Patent) decision is no less
      than a European declaration of intent on the role of IP in
      e-business and our economic model …

source:  European Conference on Innovation and eBusiness, speech by 
Former EP President Pat Cox, Brussels, 27 May 2005

(quotes selected by Hugo Lueders of CompTIA at the EPP-DE group hearing 
on swpat in the EU parl last week).



Are the two unconnected, or is there a reason that there seems to be 
such hardline Irish support for all-out unlimited software patentability?