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The EuroLinux File on Software Patents
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- 1 September 2001
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EU, European Patent Office
Link
The Revision Act shall be open for signature until the first day of
September two thousand and one at the European Patent Office.
- 25 March 2001
- FR, Government
Link
Christian Pierret - State Secretary of Industry
I am against software patents in Europe. It would kill innovation and promote juridical terrorism because multinational software publishers would multiply legal disputes against start-ups
- 15 December 2000
- EU, European Patent Office
Link
Software patents - Commission closes consultations
- 15 December 2000
- EU, Citizens
Link
More than 1100 mails were sent by European citizens.
- 15 December 2000
- EU, Citizens
Link
This document constitutes the official EuroLinux response to
the consultation on the harmonization of software patent Law launched
by the European Commission.
- 11 December 2000
- ES, Citizens
Link
Joaquin Seoane (proffesor of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)
and Ram'on Garc'ia Fern'andez report on software patents for the
public consultation on the harmonization of software patent Law launched
by the European Commission.
- 29 November 2000
- EU, European Patent Office
Link
In the ACT REVISING THE CONVENTION ON THE GRANT OF EUROPEAN PATENTS
the computer programs are confirmed to be out of the scope of
patentable inventions.
That point was stated explicitly in the Statement by Dr Roland Grossenbacher, Chairman of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation
as follows:
First, I should point out that the Conference agreed not to delete
computer programs from the list of non-patentable inventions. For the
meantime, the existing legal position therefore remains unchanged. The
Conference's decision took account of the process of consultation on
the future of legal protection in this field, and in no way challenges
the existing practice of the Office and its boards of appeal, or that
of national patent authorities and courts. As before,
computer-implemented inventions can be patented if they involve a new
and inventive technical contribution to the state of the
art. Technical solutions for use in data processing or for carrying
out methods of doing business therefore remain patentable.
- 20 November 2000
- EU, European Patent Office
Link
Diplomatic Conference to revise the European Patent Convention
- 2 November 2000
- DE, Government - Citizens
Link
This article is to clarify some of the problems and inconsistencies,
with which the author as a former software developer and current
patent examiner at the German Patent Office is confronted when
examining computer program related patent applications.
- 2 November 2000
- EU, European Patent Organisation
Link
The draft Act revising the European Patent Convention is published.
Computer programs have been removed from the list of inventions that
cannot be patented.
- 27 October 2000
- DE, Government
Link
German Ministry of Justice demands that the computer program exception
not be removed at the coming conference and threatens to opt out of
the EPC otherwise
- 19 October 2000
- EU, European Commission
Link
Software patents - Commission launches consultations
The European Commission announced the opening of an official
consultation on the economic and social impact of software patents in
Europe. In order to help European Authorities to conduct an open
consultation, the EuroLinux Alliance of software publishers and non
profit organisations debuts a public forum and a rich knowledge base.
- 15 October 2000
- EU, European Patent Organisation
Link
The second version of the basic proposal for revision of the European
Patent Convention is published. Which includes the following:
The Committee on Patent Law and the Administrative Council have advocated the
deletion of programs for computers from Article 52(2)(c) EPC .
The EPO and the Boards of Appeal have always interpreted and applied the EPC in
such a way that this exception in no way excludes appropriate protection for
softwarerelated inventions, ie inventions whose subjectmatter consists of or
includes a computer program. Indeed, more recent decisions of the Boards of
Appeal (see T 1173/97 Computer program product/IBM, OJ EPO 1999, 609) have
confirmed that computer programs producing a technical effect, as a rule, are
patentable subjectmatter under the EPC.
- 11 October 2000
- EU, European Parliament
No link
Software Patents to Spoil European e-commerce
Gilles Savary organized, in cooperation with EuroLinux, software companies and
non profit associations a conference on Software Patents
to spoil European E-Commerce. European officials were present and had a
chance to understand why software patents should not exist.
- 11 October 2000
- EU, European Patent Organisation
Link
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS TO THE CONVENTION ON THE GRANT OF EUROPEAN PATENTS
of 5 October 1973
as last amended by Decision of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation
of 11 October 2000
- 14 September 2000
- DE, Government
Link
Justus Kampp takes position against software patents.
- 7 September 2000
- FR, Government
Link
Gilles Savary - Député Européen (France)
Je pense que nous devons distinguer les concepts de droits d'auteur
des concepts de brevetabilité. Les droits d'auteur peuvent à la limite
se concevoir, car ils sont la rémunératon d'une création et de sa
diffusion; la brevetabilité est au contraire l'appropriation privée
d'une diffusion qui est une diffusion extrêmement encadrée et donc
privative pour le plus grand nombre.
- September 2000
- FR, Government
Link
Study by an official French organisation (Conseil Général des Mines)
The purpose was to determine how to ensure that intellectual property
rights could continue, in the new dimate of information society, to
meet their twofold objective : encouraging inovation and guaranteeing
the sharing of knowledge.
Portions of this study were used by french government officials during
European Commission meetings. For some they did not use the parts of
the document that contained the most striking arguments against
software patents.
- 11 August 2000
- DE , Citizens
Link
The Federation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII)
sends an open letter to the German Federal Ministery of Justice.
- 2 August 2000
- DE, Government
Link
Jörg Tauss - chairman of the German Parliamentary Commission on the New Media
In the circles of technological policy experts, you can often here people asserting that the patent system must be extended to certain areas of information technology, whose investments would otherwise not be sufficiently protected. This assertion has however until now always been touted like a self-evident truth, and nobody I know of ever cared to substantiate it in the light of facts from the German or European IT economy.
Even if the patent advocates succeeded in finding areas of information technology, in which patents are having or have had some positive effects, it would nonetheless still be necessary to investigate, whether these effects are not outweighed by possible detrimental side-effects of the patent system.
But while the legislative authorities are still completely clueless on this matter, the judicial authorities are already taking action, granting thousands of software patents and pressing for a change of the legal rules. We as legislators should therefore now take up these questions with highest priority.
- 10 July 2000
- FR, Government
Link
Catherine Tasca - Ministre de la culture et de la communication
In a speach during the Conférence internationale sur " la gestion et
l'utilisation légitime de la propriété intellectuelle ", Catherine Tasca
speaks against software patents.
- 8 July 2000
- FR, Government
??????
Link
During LSM (Libre Software Meeting) Gilles Savary (MP) speaks
against software patents.
- 10 July 2000
- FR, Government
Link
Jean-Yves LE DÉAUT - Député de Meurthe-et-Moselle
Jean-Yves LE DÉAUT sends a letter to the government against software
patents.
- Summer 2000
- EU, European Commission
A directive was introduced by the European Commission (Directorate for
Internal Market headed by Commissioner Bolkenstein and managed by John
Mogg, one of the most prominent supporter of software patents at the
European Commission).
- 24 June 2000
- FR, Government
Link
René TRÉGOUËT - Sénateur du Rhône
Speaks against software patents.
- 13 June 2000
- EU, Citizens
Link
The Eurolinux Alliance of European software companies and Open Source
associations launches a pan-European petition to keep Europe free from
software patents.
- 29 May 2000
- EU, Internal Market and Taxation The Protection of Industrial Property Commission
Link
A hardline proprietarist speeches from the European Commission's
Directorate for the Internal Market , which indicated that the
Directorate will issue a directive to extend the patent system to
software and intellectual methods, completely ignoring the concerns
raised by leading software companies and developpers, and refusing
even to study the economic effects of software patenting.
- 18 May 2000
- DE, Citizens
Link
About 40 representatives of german software companies, government
departments, patent offices, universities and associations met today
at the German Federal Ministry of Economy in Berlin in order to
discuss the effects of software patents on the economy and on the
information society.
- 24 March 2000
- EU, European Patent Office
Link
The basic proposal for revision of the European Patent Convention
is published. Which includes the following:
In any event, the deletion of computer programs from Article 52(2)(c)
EPC has met with broad consensus. The EPO and their Boards of Appeal
have always interpreted and applied the EPC in such a way that this
exception in no way excludes appropriate protection for
softwarerelated inventions, ie inventions whose subjectmatter
consists of or includes a computer program. Indeed, more recent
decisions of the Boards of Appeal (see T 1173/97 Computer program
product/IBM, OJ EPO 1999, 609) have confirmed that computer programs
producing a technical effect, as a rule, are patentable subjectmatter
under the EPC. Therefore, the current exception has become de facto
obsolete.
- 24 February 2000
- EU, European Patent Office
Link
A conference of the contracting states shall be convened to revise the
European Patent Convention. The conference shall be held from 20 to 29
November 2000 at the seat of the European Patent Organisation in
Munich.
- 1 December 1999
- FR, Government
Link
Marylise Lebranchu - ecrétaire d'Etat aux petites et moyennes entreprises, au commerce et à l'artisanat
Explains the not so clear to understand position of the french government.
- 1 December 1999
- FR, Government
Link
Yves Cochet - Député
Sends a question to the french government asking what position it
will hold regarding software patents.
- November 1999
- EU, European Commission
Link
Amended proposal for a Directive on the protection of inventions by
utility model.
This directive on utility models (i.e. short time patents) does not
include any exception for computer programmes, thus allowing them. It
has not been voted yet.
- 18 November 1999
- EU, European Committe of Regions
Link
222 members of the European Committe of Region
Speak against software patents.
- 8 July 1999
- EU, European Patent Office
Link
Notice of the President of the European Patent Office dated 8 July 1999 concerning the
closing of the European Patent Office on 3 and 4 January 2000
- 1 July 1999
- EU, European Patent Office
Link
Notice concerning the amendment of the Implementing
Regulations to the European Patent Convention (Biotechnological inventions).
- ???? 1999
- EU, European Commission
Link
The European commission asks a (UK/CH ?) intellectual property company
to conduct a study on software patents.
- 24 June 1999
- EU, European Commission
Link
This directive proposal on utility models (i.e. short time patents) does not
include any exception for computer programmes, thus allowing them.
- 24 June 1999
- FR, Government
(dead link removed)
Conférence intergouvernementale (France)
On June 24 and 25 1999 in Paris, France, the European member states of
the Munchen convention met and discussed the software patent
issue. They have decided to wait for one more year before taking any
final decision regarding article 52.2, which says that computer
programmes as such are not patentable. And French State Secretary
Christian Pierret has stressed the necessity to study the economic
impact of software patents on the software industry.
- 25 May 1999
- DE, Citizens
Link
FFII forwarded a letter, which has close to 10000 signatures, to Mr. Van Miert
(Competition Commissioner).
- 18 Mars 1999
- FR, Government
Link
Pierre Laffitte - Senator
Speaks against software patents.
- 12 February 1999
- EU, European Commission
Link
Patents: Commission outlines ambitious series of measures
In this document, the European Commission confirms that there will be
software patents. We also recommend the original French version which
includes a sentence explaining that "software patents had a great
effect on innovation" and that Microsoft is a good example of software
patent holder.
- December 1997
- EU, European Commission
Link
Commission presents a proposal for a Directive on the protection of
technical inventions (utility models)
This directive on utility models (i.e. short time patents) does not
include any exception for computer programmes, thus allowing them. It
has not been voted yet.
- 25 June 1997
- EU, European Commission
Link
Patents - Commission approves Green Paper
This is the document which started it all.
- 1996
- US, Government
Link
A Framework For Global Electronic Commerce
In this article (1996), Al Gore explains that all countries in the
World should adopt the US patent law in order to benefit from the
growth of electronic commerce.
- 17 December 1991
- EU, European Commission
Link
CONVENTION ON THE GRANT OF EUROPEAN PATENTS (EUROPEAN PATENT CONVENTION)
of 5 October 1973
text as amended by the act revising Article 63 EPC of 17 December 1991
and by decisions of the Administrative Council of the European Patent
Organisation of 21 December 1978, 13 December 1994, 20 October 1995, 5
December 1996 and 10 December 1998
In the Article
52.2 it is explicitly state that programs cannot be patented.
- 5 October 1973
- EU, European Commission
EPC - PROTOCOL ON THE CENTRALISATION OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT SYSTEM AND ON ITS INTRODUCTION (PROTOCOL ON CENTRALISATION)
EPC - PROTOCOL ON JURISDICTION AND THE RECOGNITION OF DECISIONS IN RESPECT OF THE RIGHT TO THE GRANT OF A EUROPEAN PATENT (PROTOCOL ON RECOGNITION)
EPC - PROTOCOL ON PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT ORGANISATION (PROTOCOL ON PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES)
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