Torvalds comes out against EU patent directive
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In the statement, issued Tuesday, the three developers argued that the legislation, called the software patent directive, would be harmful to the European economy.
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Microsoft&#39;s patent on the File Allocation Table disk format has been rejected by the US Patent Office, on the grounds that it should never have been granted in the first place.
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The three most famous European authors of open-source software today issued an appeal against software patents in Europe. Linux author Linus Torvalds, MySQL author Michael Windenius and
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They are asking the European Union Council to reject this proposal. They claim that software patent directive would be harmful to the European economy.
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European Union environment ministers rejected an appeal Monday to force Austria to lift a ban on two biotech crop products, which the European Commission says violates international trade rules.
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The US Patent and Trademark Office has preliminarily rejected a Microsoft Corp. patent on a system for recognizing computer files, a victory for &quot;open source&quot; advocates who believe
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German chip maker is asking the court to dismiss the patent infringement suit.
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Finnish President Tarja Halonen on Thursday spoke against suggestions to transfer to government the final authority to deploy Finnish troops as part of the European Union's rapid response force.
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A campaign to raise awareness about software patents has found strong opposition to their introduction in the United Kingdom.
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Chip maker slapped with Statement of Objections The European Commission has confirmed formal "patent ambush" charges against US memory chip designer Rambus.â¦
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A U.K. foundation gathers testimony from British businesses and coders opposed to software patents.
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At the behest of the open source-loving Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has rejected all of the claims made in one of the four patents that Microsoft holds on the Windows file system.
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(InfoWorld) - A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official has joined the debate surrounding Apple Computer's proprietary digital music technology by criticizing European antitrust activities, butÂ groups attacking AppleÂ are defending their actions. Speaking in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general at the DOJ's antitrust division, warned that forcing companies to reveal their intellectual property stifles innovation. He used Apple as an example, in a nod toÂ growing discontent in EuropeÂ regarding the way that music purchased from iTunes is tied to the iPod. Architects of complaints against Apple in Europe say he's got it wrong. "We're not attacking intellectual property rights but saying they should be implemented in a way which doesn't dictate which player you use," said Torgeir Waterhouse, a senior advisor with the Norwegian Consumer Council. His organization filed a complaint to Norway's consumer representative, or ombudsman, arguing that it's illegal for Apple to limit iTunes customers to playing music from the store exclusively on iPods. Along with similar representatives in Denmark and Sweden, the Norwegian ombudsman asked Apple toÂ defend its policy. In a written reply, Apple said it won't budge on the issue but the company plans to meet representatives from the countries later this month to further discuss the issue. If Apple won't open up, the ombudsman will take the company to court. Waterhouse suggests that Apple could solve the problem by licensing its digital rights management technology to other device makers so that iTunes customers could choose among devices or opt for an open standard that would be compatible with more devices. Barnett's criticisms of European antitrust policy, including comments that the policy is aimed at helping competitors instead of consumers, are generally in line with comments from U.S. officials since the Bush administration came to power, said Scott Megregian, a partner and head of the European competition group in the law firm McDermott Will & Emery UK. He disagrees with the argument that requiring companies to open up some of their technology stifles innovation. "That's an argument without support," he said. "Microsoft hasn't stopped innovating that I can tell despite regulations and attack by the E.U." So far, the European Commission has likely communicated with the countries that are pursuing Apple and has probably expressed an opinion on the matter, he said. While no official complaints have been filed with the Commission, if one is, the result will have the makings of a historical battle. "This has the potential to be the next big high-profile dispute," Megregian said.
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(InfoWorld) - A Belgian Internet service provider has appealed a ruling that it must block illegal file-sharing on its network in a case that tests two European Union directives concerning copyright and the extent of responsibility that ISPs have for transmitted content. The appeal contestsÂ a rulingÂ in June by Belgium's Court of First Instance against Scarlet Extended, an ISP formerly owned by Tiscali. Scarlet Extended was ordered to install within six months filtering technology made by software vendor Audible Magic Corp. The company makes software that can identity and block copyright content based on the characteristics of a file, which it calls "digital fingerprints." The ruling has brought into focus two E.U. directives, which E.U. states are required to incorporate into their national laws. While the E.U. E-Commerce Directive says that ISPs are mere conduits and not liable for monitoring content on their networks, the court disagreed, ruling that filtering is not the same as monitoring. "It's a distinction that the judge makes with very little explanation," said Struan Robertson, senior associate with Pinsent Masons and editor of the legal Web site Out-law.com. The judgment "simply says the mere conduit defense is irrelevant in the circumstances." The judgment appears to reinforce the E.U.'s Information Society Directive, also known as the copyright directive, which says a copyright owner should be able to obtain an injunction against an intermediary that's used for piracy. While the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said after the June ruling the case could set a precedent, it's unclear how the case could influence other European piracy-related cases. "Outside Belgium, other courts might be influenced by this ruling, but they are not bound by this ruling," Robertson said. "Other courts with the same facts might come to a different conclusion." The lawsuit against Scarlet Extended was originally filed in 2004 by the Belgian Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers, known as SABAM. The organization requested an injunction against Scarlet Extended, then known as Tiscali, for allowing music files to be traded on peer-to-peer networks. Â
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Three prominent open-source software developers have urged the EU to reject a law that would codify the practice of granting software patents in Europe.
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MEPs still mulling it over The European Parliament has once again postponed the vote on the latest version of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) directive. This time, the delay is to "find a final compromise" on the definition of what will consitute "commercial scale" infringement under the new proposals.â¦
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BRUSSELS, Belgium - The future of controversial European Union legislation that would allow for some software patents was in doubt Thursday after the Polish government switched sides, saying the directive could hurt small and medium-sized businesses.