[Discussioni] sui brevetti

[Carlo Daffara]

Un estratto da una mailing list a cui sono abbonato. Credo possa piacere
:-)

    --  FRENCH GOVERNMENT CRITICIZES RECENT SOFTWARE DIRECTIVE


   FRANCE 2002-03-01: Software Patentability Directive Proposal Unacceptable

   Industry Minister Christian Pierret writes to the European Commission,
   expressing his dismay about the proposed directive's apparent failure
   to propose a clear limit on patentability and to take the interest of
   european software creators as well as related european policies such
   as e.Europe into account.

   -> http://www.telecom.gouv.fr/dp/brevetlogiciel.pdf:
   -> http://www.minefi.gouv.fr/minefi/actualites/index.htm:

   Minister for Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises, Commerce, Crafts
   and Consumption

   Presse Release

   http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/accueil.htm

   Paris, 1st of March 2002

   Christian PIERRET, the minister of Industrie, SMEs, Commerce, Crafts
   and Consumption has notified the European Commission of the French
   government's position concerning the draft for a directive on the
   patentability of software which was presented today to the council of
   the internal market. Finding that the directive draft does not bring
   any of the expected clarifications concerning the limits of obtainable
   patentability, the government is worried about the scope of
   patentability which could be made open to all software and
   consequently to pure thought and business methods. However it has
   appeared clearly in France as well as in Europe that such an extension
   is largely rejected.

   France has made it clear that she finds it essential to account for
   the merits and demerits of the protection of software resulting from
   the current practise of the European Patent Organisation (EPO) and its
   member states. The french government wants to avoid any draft that
   could have negative consequences on innovation, interoperability and
   free software as well as on the actors as a whole (publishers,
   integrators, users), especially the SMEs. It believes that the
   approach of the directive fails to respond adequately to the economic,
   scientific and cultural issues of the software sector as well as to
   the need to promote innovation which is one of the priorities of the
   "e.Europe" action plan. The Commission has conducted studies and a
   consultation in the last third of the year 2000. The directive draft
   presented to the member states however does not clearly assess the
   risks which a legitimation of the practise of the EPO in the member
   states would bring, in comparison to the advantages. Various studies
   and reports conducted in several member states have appeared rather
   unenthusiastic about such an evolution. At the initiative of France,
   among others, the Diplomatic Conference for the Revision of the
   European Patent Convention (EPC) which was held in Munich in november
   2000 had decided not to change the rulings of the European Patent
   Convention on this subject, wishing that a clear European position
   could be found on the basis of a precise analysis of the economic,
   technical and legal consequences.

e ancora:

    --  W3C ENDORSES PATENT ROYALTY-FREE STANDARD FOR INTERNET

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/02/28/w3c.royalty.fre.idg/index.html

W3C Flips, Endorses Royalty-free Standards

By Scarlet Pruitt
February 28, 2002

(IDG) -- Responding to thousands of e-mail messages lobbying
against the attachment of royalty fees to World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) standards, the group released a new draft
patent policy Tuesday endorsing free specifications.

The W3C, whose goal is to develop common protocols to ensure
interoperability on the Web, said that the new draft places
a "strong and explicit commitment" to royalty-free
standards. The group was met with a flurry of criticism last
August when it released its first patent policy working
draft, which opened the door for companies to claim patent
rights and collect royalties for standards endorsed by the W3C.

The group said that it revised its patent policy draft after
receiving thousands of e-mail messages from both W3C members
and the public expressing concern about the royalty fees.
Advocates of open-source software, which is often
cooperatively developed and freely available over the Web,
were particularly unsettled by the possibility of royalty
rates being attached to international Web standards.
Although the group has changed its stance on the matter, it
said that it still has to figure out how to deal with
technology that is only available for a fee.

The W3C said that it is now seeking further public comment
on the new draft. At least one more public draft will be
released for review this year, the group said, and then a
final draft will be presented to the W3C Advisory Committee
Review. The director of that committee will decide the final policy.