Software patents in Europe 1674

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:17:50 -0600, Liam Slider

What we've had for the last several years is a recluctance on the part of large software corporations owning large patent portfolios to stir up a hornet's nest of public reaction by pursuing action against open source projects. This is PR, a tactical move, designed to make these portfolios seem benign, largely irrelevant issues. There is a lot of controversy about software patents, even in the USA. It would be counterproductive for M$ to stir up public consciousness and a likely negative reaction to their growing patent power. They need a more secure situation to launch an open challenge on a mbuttive scale.

Wait until the swpats have been around for a few (very few) more years. By that time, if the practice has spread to Europe, India and other parts of the world, it will have become enshrined as a practice in international treaties. By that time, the legitimacy of software patents will be beyond effective challenge. Then is when Bill G. will focus his minions' eyes on specific open source projects - and opposition will be muted by the pervasiveness of the practice.

Believe it or not, the time to stop this is upon us now. It will all pretty much be decided, at least as far as Europe is concerned, in the next few months. Why is this all this so new to COLA? Why is the threat so difficult to fathom? Does no one here read the blogs that cover this story? Take a look at:

But, hey, COLA folks, I'm sorry to wake you up! Why don't you all just go back to sleep. M$ will stand guard for you all and protect you with their good-hearted portfolio of tens of thousands of worthless, ineffective, forever-unenforced, silly little software patents. Isn't it nice that the wolf of Redmond has turned out to be such a nice, benign, irrelevant little fellow!! Don't you feel safe? How sweet.