From: Tim Jackson
To: richard.howitt [at] geo2.poptel.org.uk
Subject: Software patenting
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:43:37 +0100
Dear Mr. Howitt,
Having contacted you twice previously (on the 2nd and 26th of June) on the
issue of software patenting, I am disappointed not to have received a
response yet as this issue is of great concern to me. I understand that
your colleague Ms. McNally has also raised this issue with you.
Further to my previous e-mails, where I have outlined the key problems of
the flawed Directive, I have attached for your interest a recent press
release about the approval by the European Patent Office of an outrageous
pure business method patent by Amazon, the Internet retailer. Can you
imagine the outrage if authorities told local shops here in Essex "you
can't giftwrap items for customer's friends; only Big Retailer is allowed
to do that, unless you pay Big Retailer lots of money for the privilege"?
Yet seemingly this is deemed reasonable if the transaction is conducted
electronically! The proposed Directive does nothing to stop this legalised
extortion and in fact will force all national courts, including our own in
this country, to allow it.
I am sure you would seek a common-sense approach in these circumstances,
which is why it is so important that you oppose this Directive in the
strongest terms. Do not be reassured by the propenents that the proposed
Directive provides protection against such cases; terms such as "requiring
a technical contribution in the inventive step" provide purely illusory
protection as amply demonstrated by the aformentioned grant of patent.
May I also refer you to a paper by Bessen/Maskin at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology which shows, by academic analysis, why patents on
technology based on small, incremental innovations (such as software)
actually "reduce overall innovation and social welfare":
http://www.researchoninnovation.org/patent.pdf
The proposed Directive will, I understand, be debated in plenary in just
two weeks, at the start of September, and I must plead with you to
campaign against the approval of the Directive (at least without major
amendments which give real teeth to the notion of forbidding patents on
logic, algorithms and business methods).
Your time in considering this matter is greatly appreciated.
Yours very sincerely,
Tim Jackson
[attached: FFII press release about Amazon gift-wrapping patent]