In an effort to stop Europe from following the US into patent depravity, a new site has been launched to try and co-ordinate efforts to lobby against software patent adoption from being put into place in the European Union.
Patent wars are only a possibility for companies with very deep pockets, as has recently been demonstraited by Sun’s payout to Kodak of 92 million US dollars. The question to be asked, is what happens to small developers and Open Source groups? If companies are allowed to patent basic software building blocks, then you will eventually not be able to write anything without stepping on somebody else’s toes patent wise. Which means that you either have to have millions, or you have to work for one of the big companies, or you have to find another occupation.
The new site http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com has the backing of some significant companies, not the least of which is ZDNET.
Any of my readers in Europe should really write to their local members about this, because if it goes though, you can expect the cost of software to rise as well. After all, if you have to pay millions of dollars to licence patented ideas, you’re going to pass that cost on to your customers aren’t you?
While you’re out browsing, you might also want to check out protectinnovation.ffii.org.uk as well.
Regards
Franki
