Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 13:31:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@???>
To: Pat Cox <pcox@???>
cc: Arlene McCarthy <amccarthy@???>,
Michel Rocard <mrocard@???>,
Elly Plooij-van Gorsel <pplooij@???>
Subject: Open Letter on Software Patents from Linux developers
Open Letter to
the Honourable Pat Cox, the President of the European Parliament,
members of the European Parliament:
Dear Mr. Cox,
We have been following with growing concern that Europe has been
extending patentability to computer programs. Now European Parliament
is about to vote on a directive that could put a stop to this
development, or make it worse, depending on how it is amended by the
Parliament.
US experience shows that, unlike traditional patents, software patents
do not encourage innovation and R&D, quite the contrary. In particular
they hurt small and medium-sized enterprises and generally newcomers
in the market. They will just weaken the market and increase spending
on patents and litigation, at the expense of technological innovation
and research.
Especially dangerous are attempts to abuse the patent system by
preventing interoperability as a means of avoiding competition with
technological ability. Standards should never be patentable! Likewise,
patents should never be used as means for preventing publication of
information - the whole idea of patents is to provide time-limited
monopoly in exchange for publication of the invention.
Software patents are also the utmost threat to the development of
Linux and other free software products, as we are forced to see every
day while we work with the Linux development. We want to be able to
provide the world with free high class, high quality, highly
innovative software products that really empower the users and offer
the best and only real chance to narrow the digital divide. Please do
not make this harder to us that it already is! In conclusion, we would
recommend You to vote for such amendments that
* clarify limits of patentability so that computer programs,
algorithms and business methods really cannot be patented as such;
* make sure that patents cannot be abused to avoid technical
competition by preventing interoperability of competing products;
and
* ensure that patents cannot be used to prevent publication of
information.
To that end we would suggest following FFII's voting recommendations
on this directive (see
www.ffii.org).
Sincerely,
Linus Torvalds Alan Cox
torvalds@??? alan@???
Linus Torvalds & Alan Cox: Please Say No For Software Patents
San Jose / ?
Press Release
DRAFT
Linus Torvalds and Alan Cox ask for strict limitations to software
patents in
their letter to the members of the European Parliament. The vote on the
Directive will be on Wednesday and it is expected to be a very close
one.
Linus Torvalds comments: "The experiences from the USA demonstrate
that software patents don't benefit anyone but perhaps the patent
lawyers. They will just weaken the market and increase spending on
patents and litigation, at the expense of technological innovation and
research. He continues: "We hope that the members of European
Parliament see these negative sides and don't push the same chaos to
the old continent."
Alan Cox notes:" Currenly, the companies are moving programming jobs
offshore. The huge move away from the USA is not entirely driven by
pricing but by patent litigation and risk. Companies create a US
holding company for the IPR which licenses it to a non US body to
write the software overseas and import it, so as to reduce risk." He
stresses: "Adopting the same kind of patents in the EU will drive
thousands of EU programming jobs overseas, too."
The Open Letter also strongly argues for open standards. Linus
Torvalds explains: "Without open standards it is not really possible
to development open systems. And in the end, without open systems the
society won't remain open for its citizens.
In their letter, Torvalds and Cox set three requests for the Directive.
Firstly, it should clarify limits of patentability so that computer
programs
and business methods really cannot be patented as such. Secondly, the
Directive should make sure that patents cannot be abused to avoid
technical
competition by preventing interoperability of competing software.
Finally,
the patents should not be allowed to be used to prevent publication of
information.
***
Linus Torvalds <torvalds@???> is the originator and main
developer of the Linux operating system. Alan Cox
<alan@???> has been one of the major
developers of Linux for a long time.
--
Jérôme @taz : Morgan 1200 + 1Go DDR in a 10L SS40G
"Windows 95 is a 32-bit shell for a 16-bit extension to an 8-bit
operating system designed for a 4-bit microprocessor by a 2-bit company
that can't stand one bit of competition."
