Foscari - Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Informatica e Statistica

Software Patenting
(article supplied by Stefano Calzavara, student Informatica 2004/05)
One of the main arguments against software patents in Europe is that they will stifle innovation,
especially for free software developers and Small Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs). Though there
hasn't yet been a concerted attack against free software using patents, there have been many attacks on
SMEs. If any big business needs to remove competition and is failing to do this by beating them on
price, quality, or free licensing, then they can simply attack them with their patent portfolio. Even more
worrying are the so-called "patent trolls" like Acacia Technologies , which "develops, acquires, and
licenses" patented technologies, using them to extract licensing fees out of software developers, but
who do not actually produce any software. The company is opening an office in Europe in the spring
with the intention of demanding royalties on patents.
Since software, especially free software, is usually based upon a huge number of sub-programmes and
ideas taken from other programmes, it would be extremely difficult to avoid patent infringement.
However, under the U.S. system, SMEs have been restricted due to large companies building up patent
portfolios that they use to reap billions in licensing revenues from other businesses. The idea of selling
products over the Internet has already been patented in the U.S., and Amazon used its "one-click
buying" patent to famously sue Barnes & Noble in the late 1990s.
Examples of currently granted European Patents are EP803105and EP738446
These patent the idea of selling objects over a network using a server, client, and payment processor, or
using a client and a server. In other words, these are patents on selling products over the Internet;
clearly a lot of software would infringe on these overzealous patents. The time and money spent on
patent filing, prosecution, maintenance, litigation, and licensing (which SMEs cannot afford, and which
have caused many to fold or be bought out) could be better spent on product development and research
leading to more innovation. Surely, software companies would prefer to live with the pressure of
having to improve and innovate constantly instead of having to deal with software patents? This is how
it works under copyright, which already prevents competitors from merely copying software. This is
also how it has worked up till now, and we have managed to develop the Internet, operating systems,
and other software without patents.
For the free software community, which eschews patents both on pragmatic and ethical grounds, they
represent an even more worrying threat. Gestures from companies like IBM won't ever fully protect us
from attacks. Free software can only guarantee its safety in an environment without patents, in which
the only other threat is copyright infringement, which is easy to avoid--just don't copy proprietary code.
True or False
1 The author of this article believes that software patenting will create more innovation.
2 Big business wants to compete with SMEs by attacking them with patent litigation suits.
3 Accacia Technology, is opening an office in Asia during the summer.
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