Re: [Patents] DE Technologies patent in Europe?

[Hartmut Pilch <phm@a2e.de>]

> As far as I can see though, it hasn't been actually granted yet -- nor
> would it be valid anyway, unless this vote in September goes the wrong
> way...

I'd suspect that such patents have no basis in written law of NZ and AU
either.  The patent offices of AU and CA introduced swpat in the late 80s
shortly after investigative reports of their governments had warned that
the patent system on the whole is harming innovation and in particular
should be kept out of new areas such as genetics and computing.  They
proceded on their own into unchartered territories, like in Europe, except
that there was no clear prohibition to do so in the law.  But nor was
there a clear mandate to do so.  Which is probably why the patent
officials in NZ are now looking for a way to revise the "outdated" law
of 1953.

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. +49-89-18979927
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       http://swpat.ffii.org/
160,000 votes 2000 firms against software patents    http://noepatents.org/