Countdown: 3 weeks until World Day Against Software Patents

Davey Winder
Wednesday, 03 September 2008 01:42

Business IT - Technology

Ah yes, let's look at the US Patent Office which seems happy to grant ridiculous, and often seemingly speculative, patent applications for IT concepts.

Who could forget the recent Microsoft patent for Page up, Page Down navigation for example?

There have even been successful patent applications for ‘rights for the transfer of e-mails with attachments’ and even the ‘download of a device driver from the Internet.’

Yet despite these permissive patent office rulings, no US legislator has ever actually approved the practise. Although Congress and Senate, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court are all highly susceptible to lobbying from patent industries and patent professionals.

Now the Stop Software Patents campaign, a coalition of more than 80 software companies, associations and developers, has declared that there should be a World Day Against Software Patents to highlight the ongoing problems.

The World Day Against Software Patents will also "provide volunteers with the opportunity to express the growing concerns of users, businesses and developers" the organisers say, adding that they "expect 24 hours of activities across the globe."

This will include volunteers gathering in front of patent offices to inform the general public of the problems underlying software patenting as well as the issuing of a global petition demanding that software patents worldwide should cease.

Benjamin Henrion, initiator of the StopSoftwarePatents coalition effort, tells us that the aim behind StopSoftwarePatents is to gather a worldwide coalition of businesses and civil society in order to get laws which clearly exempt software from patentable subject matter.

"This is the best solution for getting rid of patent trolls and uncontrollable legal risks generated by software patents. The day the software industry forms a clear front against software patents will be the beginning of the end for the patent trolls." Henrion insists.