Hello everybody,
as you know the FSFE, as well as many of you, has been involved in the software patent topic for many years. Now there is another way to get active in this area.
Until 30 June you can participate in a survey for "CIFRA: Challenging the ICT Patent Framework for Responsible Innovation", a project within Horizon 2020 of the European Commission. The study is performed by Knut Blind, who already previously did work on standardisation and patents in Europe.
The FSFE was already involved in expert interviews for that project and because we believe it is important to provide a diverse set of rationales and arguments in this context, your participation will be highly appreciated.
*Direct link* to the survey to be completed by 30 June 2017 (the results will be made available at first to the respondents of the survey, and then presented at a workshop on 30 October in Madrid):
https://inno.limequery.com/228186
The outline of the project:
The importance of patents for the promotion of responsible innovation in ICT is in general acknowledged. This survey is conducted within the framework of CIFRA: Challenging the ICT Patent Framework for Responsible Innovation, a project within Horizon 2020 of the European Commission.
We are aware of the various business models of the stakeholders involved in the development and commercialisation of ICT-related technologies and the different role ICT patents and other intellectual property rights play. Consequently, there is no single first best solution available. It is further acknowledged that the patent system is an integral legal framework which is respectful of IPR meeting the requirements of both 'innovative step' and 'novelty' – regardless of the technology, industry or sector.
The objective of this study is to review the issues and possible improvements related to current framework for ICT patents to promote responsible innovation. This questionnaire is based on the review of the literature and interviews with stakeholders from various backgrounds. It aims to collect the opinions and attitudes of stakeholders involved in or with the ICT sector towards the current patent regime framework relevant for responsible innovation. Your answers to the questions of the survey, which we interpret as your personal opinion and not necessarily your organis ation’s official position, will be treated with absolute confidentiality. We will only analyse data on an aggregated level and include them in the final report of this project to be published on the project webpage http://cifra-h2020.eu/.
We know about your time constraints, but would deeply appreciate your co-operation and your opinions in order to support the further development of an innovation-friendly patent regime for ICT in the European Union.
Please fill out the survey under https://inno.limequery.com/228186 and feel free to spread this e-mail with others interested in that topic.
Best Regards, Matthias