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<html>
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<head>
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<title>
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Europe should conserve a competitive advantageand prohibit a legal basis
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for software patents - September 6th, 2004
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</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>
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Europe should conserve a competitive advantageand prohibit a legal basis
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for software patents
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</h1>
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<h3>September 6th, 2004</h3>
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<div class="letter">
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<p>
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Dear Prime Minister,<br />
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Dear Dr. Balkenende,
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</p>
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<p>
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The new Commission of the European Union would like to speed up the
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"Lisbon"-Process to make Europe the "most competitive knowledge-based
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economy by 2010". This is a reasonable aim which is worthy of support
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by European citizens. However, the EU is considering legislation which
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will have adverse effects on the software market. We - the Free
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Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) - would like to call your attention
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to this important issue. With your help it may be possible to avoid
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this problem before it gets off the ground in the EU.
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</p>
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<p>
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Software patents are used to hinder competitors software innovation.
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This is the sole reason that a virtual waste paper basket is patented,
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the incorporation of applications into a website is patented, and or
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the ordering of gifts via the internet is patented. These ideas are not
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very innovative, but they are necessary to make the whole application
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run and be usable by anybody. It is just the same as with a car: To get
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access to the real innovations you need to use trivial features such as
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a steering wheel.
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</p>
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<p>
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In the last few weeks we have seen what happens to project management
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in business and public administration because of a demanding project,
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such as in Munich. A member of the city council feared that the project
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might infringe a patent - and the project got into trouble for a whole
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week, although software giants IBM are interested in managing this
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project because of its international prestige. This was paralleled
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worldwide, as similar projects are supposedly threatened as well.
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</p>
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<p>
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From now on any introduction of SAP will be in danger. The same way it
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might get impossible to implement additional security features to
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eliminate a bug in a web server - because there might at any time be
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someone who speculates whether the ideas behind the implementation are
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"protected" by software patents. For these reasons voices in the US
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would like to get rid of the innovation blockade which are "software
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patents".
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</p>
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<p>
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30,000 software patents already exist in the EU; this contradicts the
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spirit of the present patent law in the EU. Three quarters of software
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patents are held by non-European companies. To give software patents a
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legal basis may be a decision which would make the EU far less
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competitive. That is why we would like to ask the European Council to
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revise its agreement on software patents of May 18th. Instead the
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Council should decide to make sure innovation can take place and not be
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restricted by software patents in the future.
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</p>
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<p>
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During the dutch Presidency of the European Union you have the best
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opportunity to initiate this revision. In the interest of Europe you
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should not hesitate to make this revision.
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</p>
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<p>Yours sincerely</p>
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<p>
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Georg Greve<br />
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President<br />
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Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
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</p>
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</div>
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</body>
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<timestamp>$Date$ $Author$</timestamp>
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</html>
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