UK Resource on Software Patents

Patent industry quote:

"Up to now software-based inventions can only be protected in the European Community - with the exception of one Member State - disguised in the form of processes, systems or devices controlled by software."

Arno Koerber, Director Intellectual Property, Siemens AG

Welcome

If you are a UK resident worried about the issue of software patents, or simply seeking up-to-date news on what is going on - you're in the right place. We aim to explain in plain English the technicalities of this difficult and controversial topic, and show how you can get involved.

Software patents are a hot topic, because the EU are considering passing a directive which will make them formally available. Arguments in favour of software patents are that software is simply another area of technology, and that a technical device should be patentable whether it is designed in hardware or software. We will show this argument is simplistic at best, and at worst opens the doors to a complete de-regulation of the patent system.

Patent industry quote:

"The Commission might be prepared to support a revision of the Munich Convention to improve it and to make it clear that computer programmes are no longer excluded from patent protection."

John Mogg, Director General of DG XV (Internal Market and Financial Services), European Commission

Current EU Directive

Where are we now? My European Process page shows where we are, and where we're going.
Is the directive good? The text passed by the European Parliament protects innovators writing software; read why this directive is now considered good news. Please support the Parliament proposal.
What about other versions of the Directive? The text originally proposed - and the text which looks like being proposed by the Council - both suffer serious flaws. The main one is that patentability is limited to "technical" software; read why technical contribution is nothing but a myth that doesn't actually protect innovators.

What can I do to help?

Support the Directive as amended by the European Parliament - the text agreed in the Parliament is a realistic and practical way to implement patents on inventions which use software, and doesn't threaten European software innovation. Write to your MP and your MEP in support of the Parliament's text; if the pro-patent lobby cannot change the Parliament's good work they will seek to scuttle the directive!
If you're a business, contribute your testimony to FFII-UK's Protect Innovation campaign. Make sure that politicans can quantify the amount of damage this proposal will cause!
Help those who are working against damaging proposals. The places to do this for the UK are:
- The ffii-uk mailing list at the FFII UK site - you can subscribe via the mailman interface;

The quotes on this page are taken from speeches that were made by patent industry figures at the "Software Patents in Europe" Conference