[From nobody Thu May 13 14:56:27 2004 Return-Path: <free-sklyarov-uk-admin@xenoclast.org> Delivered-To: jneves-silvaneves:org-joao@silvaneves.org X-Envelope-To: joao@silvaneves.org Received: (qmail 55744 invoked from network); 13 May 2004 13:52:27 -0000 Received: from pling.qwghlm.org (HELO mx.qwghlm.org) (193.122.42.66) by silvaneves.org with SMTP; 13 May 2004 13:52:27 -0000 Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=pling.qwghlm.org ident=list) by mx.qwghlm.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1BOGa8-0004Cd-00; Thu, 13 May 2004 14:49:04 +0100 Received: from vscane-a.ucl.ac.uk ([144.82.100.148]) by mx.qwghlm.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1BOGZw-0004C5-00 for <free-sklyarov-uk@xenoclast.org>; Thu, 13 May 2004 14:48:53 +0100 Received: from dial-62-64-203-19.access.uk.tiscali.com ([62.64.203.19] helo=ucl.ac.uk) by vscane-a.ucl.ac.uk with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1BOGZp-0001ri-Au; Thu, 13 May 2004 14:48:45 +0100 Message-ID: <40A37CBA.7040900@ucl.ac.uk> From: James Heald <j.heald@ucl.ac.uk> User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.6) Gecko/20040113 X-Accept-Language: en, en-us MIME-Version: 1.0 To: fsfe-ie <fsfe-ie@fsfeurope.org>, FSFE-UK <fsfe-uk@gnu.org>, free-sklyarov-uk@xenoclast.org Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed X-UCL-MailScanner-Information: Please contact the UCL Helpdesk, helpdesk@ucl.ac.uk for more information X-UCL-MailScanner: Found to be clean Subject: [Free-sklyarov-uk] Positive news on swpat Sender: free-sklyarov-uk-admin@xenoclast.org Errors-To: free-sklyarov-uk-admin@xenoclast.org X-BeenThere: free-sklyarov-uk@xenoclast.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: <mailto:free-sklyarov-uk-request@xenoclast.org?subject=help> List-Post: <mailto:free-sklyarov-uk@xenoclast.org> List-Subscribe: <http://mailman.xenoclast.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/free-sklyarov-uk>, <mailto:free-sklyarov-uk-request@xenoclast.org?subject=subscribe> List-Id: Campaign for Digital Rights - main list <free-sklyarov-uk.xenoclast.org> List-Unsubscribe: <http://mailman.xenoclast.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/free-sklyarov-uk>, <mailto:free-sklyarov-uk-request@xenoclast.org?subject=unsubscribe> List-Archive: <http://mailman.xenoclast.org/pipermail/free-sklyarov-uk/> Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 14:48:42 +0100 X-Spambayes-Classification: ham X-Spambayes-MailId: 1084456376 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Some positive developments internationally. See stories on the FFII 'breaking news' wiki at http://kwiki.ffii.org/SwpatcninoEn * Luxembourg has called in the text. There /will/ now be a=20 round-the-table discussion of it by the ministers. It will now /not/ be taken as one of the 'A items' nodded through=20 en-bloc at the start of the agenda. * The leading German official has confirmed Germany still opposes the=20 proposed text. http://kwiki.ffii.org/?DemoBerlin040513En * Belgium and Slovenia are also likely to follow Germany on this. * Poland: Richard Stallmann and others have made a big impact at a=20 lengthy session in the Polish parliament. Previously Poland appears to have been keeping its head down. * France: Le Monde has reminded the French president that he had=20 previously promised to opposed software patents, before the French=20 presidential election in 2002 http://www.weblmi.com/news_store/2004_05_12_Bataille_sur_les_bre_18/News_vi= ew The issue is very much "in play". =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D In the UK and Ireland, our best chance I think is to try to convince the=20 powers that be that the proposed draft will simply not go through the=20 European Parliament, however much the Patent Office is pushing for it,=20 because it gives *nothing at all* in the three most important areas=20 where the Parliament expressed concern: -- *nothing* to give explicit reassurance that ordinary discussion of=20 algorithms in the form of code fragments will not be silenced by program=20 claims. (article 5.2). A provision that such discussion should be=20 considered 'fair use' would at least offer an olive branch here. -- *nothing* to prevent dominant patent owners locking out specific=20 competitors for interoperability by refusing patent licences, short of a=20 full-scale EU Competition commission investigation. (article 6a). (The=20 EP wanted to allow automatic unfettered use. As a compromise Denmark=20 has suggested creating new fast-track procedures to allow compulsory=20 RAND licensing -- but this is rejected in the Irish draft) -- most importantly, *nothing* to clarify what should be considered=20 "technical". The EP wanted a reference to "control of the forces of=20 nature" as the acid test, and a statement that the mere processing of=20 data is not technical.(articles 2, 3a and 4). But all the EP's=20 amendments in this area are rejected. Past UK case law also supports the idea that methods which merely=20 address generic data relate to "computer programs as such", and only=20 become technical if the data has a specific technological relevance=20 beyond this; thus the current Patent Office manual states: "1.26.4 The reference in Merrill Lynch to Vicom involving an=20 increase in speed (see 1.26.2) does not mean that an increase in speed=20 of itself is enough. This point was considered in Options Clearing Corpn=20 Inc's Application (unreported) when the hearing officer concluded that=20 Vicom was allowable because it produced an advance, namely an increase=20 in speed, in a technical field, namely the technical field of image enhancement, and not simply because of the advance itself". This principle should be upheld; but the EPO is already granting patents=20 far beyond this. The European Parliament proposed a specific amendment that a mere=20 increase in the speed of data processing should not of itself be=20 considered technical; but this amendment is also to be rejected. If the Council makes no attempt to engage with the Parliament on any of=20 these concerns, it seems quite likely to lose the entire Directive. _______________________________________________ Free-sklyarov-uk mailing list Free-sklyarov-uk@xenoclast.org http://mailman.xenoclast.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/free-sklyarov-uk ]