2013-06-12 11:03:03 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
|
2013-06-12 11:26:35 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<html newsdate="2013-06-12">
|
2020-04-15 09:46:59 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<version>1</version>
|
|
|
|
|
|
2013-06-12 11:03:03 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<head>
|
|
|
|
|
<title>German Parliament tells government to strictly limit patents on software</title>
|
|
|
|
|
</head>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<body>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<h1>German Parliament tells government to strictly limit patents on software</h1>
|
|
|
|
|
|
2020-05-01 09:03:48 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<p>On Friday the 7th of June the German Parliament <a
|
2013-06-12 11:03:03 +00:00
|
|
|
|
href="http://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2013/45033928_kw23_angenommen_abgelehnt/index.html">decided
|
|
|
|
|
upon</a> a <a href="http://dip.bundestag.de/btd/17/130/1713086.pdf">joint
|
|
|
|
|
motion to limit software patents</a> (see <a
|
2020-07-07 16:47:39 +00:00
|
|
|
|
href="https://l.fsfe.org/bikt-swpat-en.pdf">English translation by
|
2013-06-12 11:03:03 +00:00
|
|
|
|
BIKT</a>). The Parliament urges the German Government to take steps to
|
|
|
|
|
limit the granting of patents on computer programs. Software should
|
|
|
|
|
exclusively be covered by copyright, and the rights of the copyright
|
|
|
|
|
holders should not be devalued by third parties' software patents. The
|
|
|
|
|
only exception where patents should be allowed are computer programs which
|
|
|
|
|
replace a mechanical or electromagnetic component. In addition the
|
|
|
|
|
Parliament made clear that governmental actions related to patents must
|
|
|
|
|
never interfere with the legality of distributing Free Software.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><p>"This is an important step to fix the software patent
|
|
|
|
|
insanity. The FSFE highly welcomes this decision. It's great to see that
|
|
|
|
|
all of Germany's major parties understand that software patents are a
|
|
|
|
|
huge problem and that they are acting accordingly," says Matthias
|
|
|
|
|
Kirschner, FSFE's coordinator for Germany.</p></blockquote>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Tens of thousands of software patents in Germany and Europe present
|
|
|
|
|
enormous cost and liability risks, especially for SMEs. Several German SME
|
|
|
|
|
associations welcomed the Parliament's decision. However they warn against
|
|
|
|
|
giving all the responsibility to Brussels, as the EU has been consistently
|
|
|
|
|
incapable of providing software developers with legal certainty. "Germany
|
|
|
|
|
now has to implement this decision in law, to send a strong signal towards
|
|
|
|
|
Brussels," says Johannes Sommer of BIKT, one of the associations.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>At an expert meeting in the Parliament on 13th May, in which FSFE also
|
|
|
|
|
participated, industry associations BIKT and BITMi proposed changes to
|
|
|
|
|
German copyright and patent law. These proposals would also affect
|
|
|
|
|
software patents which have already been granted. The first proposal is to
|
|
|
|
|
add a "protective shield" clause to German copyright law , introducing a
|
2020-07-07 16:47:39 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<a href="https://l.fsfe.org/bikt-schutz">blanket ban</a> on the enforcement
|
2013-06-12 11:03:03 +00:00
|
|
|
|
of patent claims with regard to software. The second proposal to be
|
|
|
|
|
implemented in German patent law makes sure that the effect of patent
|
|
|
|
|
claims shall not extend to works protected independently by copyright. Both
|
|
|
|
|
proposals would prevent that patents on software can be enforced against
|
|
|
|
|
software developers. The FSFE supports both proposals.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><p>"Since the EU has decided to give away its power to make
|
|
|
|
|
rules on the unitary patent, this step towards limiting patents on
|
|
|
|
|
software is all the more important.", says Kirschner.</p></blockquote>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Background: The joint motion was introduced in German Parliament in
|
|
|
|
|
April. After a first hearing, the legal committee held an external expert
|
|
|
|
|
meeting on May 13th for which FSFE published a <a
|
|
|
|
|
href="http://www.bundestag.de/bundestag/ausschuesse17/a06/anhoerungen/archiv/47_Patentierung_von_Computerprogrammen/04_Stellungnahmen/Stellungnahme_Kirschner.pdf">written
|
|
|
|
|
statement</a> and <a
|
2020-06-10 05:25:06 +00:00
|
|
|
|
href="https://wiki.fsfe.org/mk/BundestagAnhoerung2013SoftwarepatenteNotizen">Matthias
|
2013-06-12 11:03:03 +00:00
|
|
|
|
Kirschner's notes of his oral presentation</a>. During the hearing, a
|
|
|
|
|
substantial majority of the external experts supported the join motion.
|
|
|
|
|
After recommendations from the Parliament's Legal Committee, backed up by
|
|
|
|
|
the Committee for Economy and Technology, the Committee of Education,
|
|
|
|
|
Research, and Engineering Results Assessment, as well as from the Committee
|
|
|
|
|
for Culture and Media, the German Parliament in plenary session has
|
|
|
|
|
approved unanimously the joint motion on the 7th June.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
</body>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<tags>
|
2020-04-26 11:32:25 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<tag key="front-page"/>
|
2020-09-25 10:08:08 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<tag key="swpat">Software Patents</tag>
|
2020-04-26 11:32:25 +00:00
|
|
|
|
<tag key="de"/>
|
|
|
|
|
<tag key="policy"/>
|
2013-06-12 11:03:03 +00:00
|
|
|
|
</tags>
|
|
|
|
|
</html>
|
|
|
|
|
<!--
|
|
|
|
|
Local Variables: ***
|
|
|
|
|
mode: xml ***
|
|
|
|
|
End: ***
|
|
|
|
|
-->
|