[ffii] US gov't to MEPs: Interoperability Exemption Inacceptable (fwd)

[Hartmut Pilch <phm@a2e.de>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 13:44:44 +0200 (CEST)
From: Hartmut Pilch <phm@a2e.de>
To: news@ffii.org
Subject: [ffii] US gov't to MEPs: Interoperability Exemption Inacceptable

FFII News -- For Immediate Release -- Please Redistribute
+++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++
At

        http://swpat.ffii.org/#news
        http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/ustr0309/

you find a paper from the US government (i.e. USPTO top officials) which
was sent through the State Department to numerous MEPs, and an analysis
of this paper, and which urges the Parliament to reject Art 6a, based on
misinformation about the EU's obligations under TRIPs.

A paper of similar content was sent to MEPs by the UK government, i.e. the
UK Patent Office earlier this month.

        http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/ukrep0309/

As the conflict heightens, it becomes more clearer than before who the
main actors are and what is being "harmonised".  European Law is being
brought in line with the Trilateral Standard for granting of patents on
computer-implemented business methods which the three big patent offices
(US, EU, JP) agreed upon in 2000 and whose implementation this directive
codifies, as the USPTO acknowledges.  While Art 4 deviates from the
Trilateral Standard only at a rhetorical level and is therefore not of
real concern to the USPTO, Art 6a does touch upon real interests of
"American inventors", to whose global promotion the USPTO has committed
itself through an "action plan" recently.  US and UK are closely
cooperating in this agenda.  While the US is acting at a global level, the
UK is dominating the decision processes in Brussels.  The present
USPTO statement was sent out mainly to UK MEPs.

We have produced a series of introductions/analyses of the main
contentious issues, including

    Interoperability, Patents and Art 6a of the Directive
    http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/itop/

    Program Claims: Bans on Publication of Patent Descriptions
    http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/prog/

    Why Amazon One Click Shopping is Patentable under the Proposed EU 
Directive
    http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/tech/index.en.html

All available in English and French.  More translations are needed.

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. +49-89-18979927
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       http://swpat.ffii.org/
200,000 votes 2000 firms against software patents    http://noepatents.org/

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