Hi,
I heard this morning that Dave McWilliams will be having breakfast with Mary Harney tomorrow morning. This is usually an hour-long chat, and the programme asks for people to send in their own questions and comments. I propose to send in the below. I'm not certain that I have the correct read on things (the question below reflects my own opinion), but if the IFSO wants to put it name to it, then maybe I can get some more suggestions.
I am focusing in my question on small and indigenous businesses as I don't want the question turned away because it advocates what many people believe (wrongly, but there's little that can be done about it in one question) that Free Software is an uber-socialist phenomenon.
Here's my question for herself, anyway.
Éibhear -- Hi,
Perhaps you can bring the following up with the Tanaiste when you are speaking with her.
This week, it was announced that the proposed EU directive on software patents has been referred "back up to the 'political' level". The government, as President of the EU, wants all the objections dropped, including all the clarifying amendments that were added to it in the European Parliament last September.
There are many thousands of software-based patents in the US, some passing ridiculous and entrenching themselves right in the middle of sublime. Most of these are held by the large corporations from the US -- Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, etc. These organisations have small or no R&D operations in Ireland. What is here is easily relocated to the US or the far east at the piqued whim of a company's CEO. If software patents are brought into Europe, then it's natural to believe that all these patents will be applied over here.
This morning, you (Dave McWilliams) were involved in a discussion which decried the lack of technology R&D taking place in Ireland, and you sounded supportive of the notion of providing tax breaks to companies who have R&D budgets.
If software patents are introduced into Europe as proposed by Ireland, then indigenous companies will not be able to perform R&D here as the burden of managing what existing patents are being put to use will be far too great.
Perhaps you could ask Ms. Harney why she supports software patents, when software is already perfectly protected by copyright, given that it will certainly stifle R&D in small countries like Ireland. You could also ask her how Europe can compete when the vast majority of software implementations are already patented in the US by non-european companies, and that not a single piece of software can be implemented without availing of a large number of those patents.
Thanks, etc.
É...and so on.
-- Éibhear Ó hAnluain IFSO Ireland.
Should you also address the issue of non-R&D companies and contracotrs having to negotiate a minefield of patent issues just to implement a website or a bit of bespoke software,
F
On Thu, Apr 15, 2004 at 05:41:40AM -0500, ?ibhear wrote:
Hi,
I heard this morning that Dave McWilliams will be having breakfast with Mary Harney tomorrow morning. This is usually an hour-long chat, and the programme asks for people to send in their own questions and comments. I propose to send in the below. I'm not certain that I have the correct read on things (the question below reflects my own opinion), but if the IFSO wants to put it name to it, then maybe I can get some more suggestions.
I am focusing in my question on small and indigenous businesses as I don't want the question turned away because it advocates what many people believe (wrongly, but there's little that can be done about it in one question) that Free Software is an uber-socialist phenomenon.
Here's my question for herself, anyway.
?ibhear
Hi,
Perhaps you can bring the following up with the Tanaiste when you are speaking with her.
This week, it was announced that the proposed EU directive on software patents has been referred "back up to the 'political' level". The government, as President of the EU, wants all the objections dropped, including all the clarifying amendments that were added to it in the European Parliament last September.
There are many thousands of software-based patents in the US, some passing ridiculous and entrenching themselves right in the middle of sublime. Most of these are held by the large corporations from the US -- Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, etc. These organisations have small or no R&D operations in Ireland. What is here is easily relocated to the US or the far east at the piqued whim of a company's CEO. If software patents are brought into Europe, then it's natural to believe that all these patents will be applied over here.
This morning, you (Dave McWilliams) were involved in a discussion which decried the lack of technology R&D taking place in Ireland, and you sounded supportive of the notion of providing tax breaks to companies who have R&D budgets.
If software patents are introduced into Europe as proposed by Ireland, then indigenous companies will not be able to perform R&D here as the burden of managing what existing patents are being put to use will be far too great.
Perhaps you could ask Ms. Harney why she supports software patents, when software is already perfectly protected by copyright, given that it will certainly stifle R&D in small countries like Ireland. You could also ask her how Europe can compete when the vast majority of software implementations are already patented in the US by non-european companies, and that not a single piece of software can be implemented without availing of a large number of those patents.
Thanks, etc.
?...and so on.
-- ?ibhear ? hAnluain IFSO Ireland. _______________________________________________ fsfe-ie@fsfeurope.org mailing list List information: http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/fsfe-ie Public archive: https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/fsfe-ie
On Thu, 2004-04-15 at 11:41, Éibhear wrote:
There are many thousands of software-based patents in the US, some passing ridiculous and entrenching themselves right in the middle of sublime
I don't think "sublime" means quite what you think it means :-) Generally, I think you might be using too many words. How about:
""" On Wednesday of this week, hundreds of software engineers and small business owners protested in Brussels against the introduction of Software Patents in the EU. In September the European Parliament made amendments and clarifications to a proposal to prevent it from legalizing software patents, yet the European Council's internal working party chose to discard these amendments.
Does the Irish Presidency recognise the risks to innovation and competition in the software industry that software patents create, and if so, why discard the European Parliaments efforts to address these risks? """
Ian.
Does the Irish Presidency recognise the risks to innovation and competition in the software industry that software patents create, and if so, why discard the European Parliaments efforts to address these risks? """
I think Ian's wording is better. It throws the question back on Harney.
It might also be worth saying something along the lines of how patents will protect "big business" with huge patent portfolio's at the expense of the SME sector who are prevented from innovating by open-ended patents. ie make the case that the balance is too strongly in favour of larger corporations, and that Ms Harney should be working harder to promote the development of our local sofware industry - something patents will harm.
Paul
if so, why discard the European Parliaments efforts to address these
^
Spot where there should be an apostrophe :-)
BTW - if you do decide to use any of what I wrote - don't mention my name since I have written my own email and don't want to seem like I am bombarding them.
Any volunteers to listen to the radio tomorrow morning and take some notes if the question is raised? (I can't because their streaming seems to require Microsoft, and we don't get Newstalk in Edinburgh :-)
Ian.
Ian Clarke wrote:
Generally, I think you might be using too many words. How about:
""" [...] Does the Irish Presidency recognise the risks to innovation and competition in the software industry that software patents create, and if so, why discard the European Parliaments efforts to address these risks? """
Would it be worth bringing up the US FTC report, to try to make the point that the harm done to innovation by software patents has actually been observed, and is not just speculation on our part?
(FFII's summary is at http://www.ffii.org.uk/ftc/ftc.html and contains a link to the full report.)
Ben.
On Wednesday of this week, hundreds of software engineers and small business owners protested in Brussels against the introduction of
And are still doing so (discussing not protesting), currently sitting at said conference ;)
Software Patents in the EU. In September the European Parliament made
David Cathcart