[Patents] Re: European Union plans to adopt US kind "liberal practice" on software

[robert.bielik@gyrosmicro.com robert.bielik@gyrosmicro.com]

>In fact, patents should stimulate innovation by providing inventors with a
means to recoup investments
>on the basis of the grant of a temporary monopoly on the commercialisation of
>the patented products and processes. To compensate for the grant of the
>monopoly, the invention is disclosed to the public. Innovative industry 
>should
>be able to build upon the disclosed knowledge.

This is how it was meant to be. But just look at the US to see what has become
of it. Patents are used to crush
small to middle sized software companies, due to in a legal dispute, both
parties are required to pay a substantial amount of money. Enough to drive 
most
software companies into bankruptcy. And this is happening now in the US.
Do we want it to happen here in Europe too??

>My services are currently exploring if the Directive should be confined to a
harmonisation of the status
>quo as defined by the jurisprudence or if it should go beyond the status quo
and
>into the direction of the more liberal practice in the US.

If the latter would be the recommendation, woe on the independent software
developers of Europe. They might as well seize what their doing.

/Robert Bielik