In July 2005, the European Parliament overwhelmingly rejected the proposal for a directive on software patents. "Many MEPs became aware in the run up to that vote that small and medium enterprises, which are the backbone of Europe's economy, need freedom – not a corset of patents – for creativity and development." said Austrian Green/EFA MEP Eva Lichtenberger.
In order to prevent this controversial directive being passed, MEPs from the Greens/EFA group launched an emergency SOS call to Save Our Software.
The battle began much earlier, when the Commission presented its initial proposal for a directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in June 2002.
From the outset, the Greens/EFA group fought to prevent software patenting. For the group, software patenting is much more than a technical issue: it is an issue of culture and of knowledge, since software patents would open the door to patenting 'knowledge' for the first time in the EU. Software patents are also an economic issue: they harm SMEs, hinder innovation and reinforce monopolies. The Greens/EFA support protection of software (be it free or proprietary) by means of copyrighting.
Together with NGOs and associations, the Green/EFA group organised several international conferences in the European Parliament with high-rank personalities such as Richard Stallmann, Brian Kahin or Alan Cox in order to draw attention to the risks of patenting software.
Many other initiatives contributed to making European decision-makers aware about what was at stake with regard to the proposed directive. Leading scientists, software innovators, economists and IT researchers from all over Europe expressed their opposition to the proposal for a directive.
an international petition by scientists and software innovators, an open letter from economists, a letter from electronic publishing actors ...
In September 2003, the Green/EFA co-Presidents Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni called for free/open source software in the EU institutions, inviting the Secretary General of the European Parliament to take a step in this direction.
Further information
- Proposal for a directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions
- Green/EFA position on software patents
- Leaflet "Save our Software"
- International petition by scientists and software innovators
- Open letter from economists
- Position Paper of the UEAPME (European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises)
See also