Software patents in Europe 1677
But none of the current patents ARE valid... They would have to be applied for IN EUROPE, but the moment they did apply for them, everyone and his dog could cry "PRIOR ART...
The problem is that Torvalds et al have developed Linux, without any effort to avoid patented technology. As I understand it, Linus has a policy of purposely not researching patents, in order to preserve deniability of intent. That leaves completely open the question of whether or not the hundreds of contributors to Linux have incorporated patented material. Given the non-specific nature of many current patents, there is every reason to buttume that Linux is vulnerable.
Besides, even if spurious charges were brought against Linux, it would cost a fortune to defend the legitimacy of the kernel in court. The only parties capable of keeping the legal wolves at bay would be large, wealthy corporations.
As far as Europe is concerned, the EU has been approving swpats for several years now, following much the same road as the USA. However, without the imprimature of the European Parliament, the uniformity among European countries that is necessary for enforcement has been lacking. There is every possibility that existing patents, currently unenforced, would, in the event of a successful EU effort to legalize swpats, provide a host of weapons that could be used in Europe, as well as the USA, against Linux and other major o.s. projects.
That is the argument used by the defenders of the currently proposed legislation. However, the vagueness of the terms used to define patentable software leaves much open to interpretation. That means the courts would have to settle the matter, and there is no way to predict which courts would handle the first cases or how any particular court would decide. The history of European intent in this regard may or may not provide a brake on judges who were inclined to favor patenting software.
This really depends on whether we get the same kind of completely trivial, broad-brush patents in the EU which have been awarded in the US. If that happens, then it...
begin trojan.vbs It was on Wed, 09 Mar 2005 13:26:57 +0000, that spike1 Umm, not really. You see M$haft say:- From their EULA :- Microsoft Windows XP Professional END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT...
Is the system corrupt? Perhaps, but even if it were not, the current legislation before the EU could threaten open source, given an interpretation that favored large corporations pushing for their power to use patents to crush smaller compebreastors.
Screwing up future software freezes open source projects, which is the kiss of rest.