Lounge

Very good news!!!
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8B5RKT80.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/06/eu_bins_swpat/

and if it's not clear yet how happy I am about this, once more

Great news!

Here in Dutch

(unbelievable: they use Word-documents for their texts! Still a long way to go...)

In German by Heise Online:
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/61446

This is interesting:

The protection would also have extended to computer programs, but only when the software is used in the context of realizing inventions.

But who would decide when the software is used in the context of realizing inventions?


NO SOFTWARE PATENTS

says

Teemu

So the Parliament stood up against the the MS-Brussels-alliance! The burocracy was defeated. And perhaps the arrogance of some of the "global players".

I am very happy too of the final result, the Parliament is metres away from my office here in Strasbourg and I followed the entire process over tue-wed (some posts with more info on what they said in the Parliament on my blog).

I have however to say that a vast part of the MEPs had not a single clue of the difference between copyright and patents, and the fact the vote went the way it did, have far much to do with a "retaliation" by the Parliament on the Commission and the European Council than with the content of the proposal itself.

The final result is there, but it would be a giant mistake to stop campaigning in the same direction... there's a massive ignorance on these themes around here...

Have a nice day!
Mac.

I am also very happy about it : it just seems to me that protecting a simple idea can break the development of new ones.

Anyway, as far as I know, it is still far from being rejected in the USA: there are patents such as the "idea" of a "plugin". I hope someday they do the same as the EU I am living in.