By Dan Ilett, 4 May 2005 11:10
NEWS The UK Independence Party (UKIP) has slammed those pushing for software patents in the European Union.
Two days before the UK's General Election, UKIP also attacked rival political parties for failing to understand the software patent issue and the damage it claims patents could cause.
An emailed statement from the company said: "Software patents stifle innovation, unfairly favour big business and curtail the rights and freedoms of individual computer programmers. Software patents can be used as a tool to restrict freedom of ideas and freedom of expression. As a strong supporter of civil liberties and freedom of speech, this party could never support the introduction of such measures."
"All three major UK political parties have yet to make a stand against the introduction of software patents. They're asleep on the job as our liberties trickle away."
UKIP, which claims to use open source software in its Birmingham head office, said it would fight any attempt by the EU to pass the Computer Implemented Inventions Directive - a law that many say would allow the widespread patenting of software in Europe. It congratulated governments in Cyprus, Hungary, Lativia, Poland and the Netherlands for opposing the directive.
"If the legislation is passed, the only way to prevent the introduction of software patents in the UK would be to leave the European Union - a course of action that only UKIP favours."
No Labour or Conservative MPs were available to comment on the matter, however when asked about software patents and the EU, a Labour telephone assistant said: "There is an election going on."
The software patent directive is due to be considered by the European parliament in July, when it will have an opportunity to amend or reject it.
Dan Ilett writes for ZDNet UK
Comments
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1. Richard Allan
We have been actively working on this issue in the Lib Dems. There is a major flaw in the UKIP position. They oppose the Directive because it comes from the EU. However, if there were no EU and therefore no Directive as UKIP want then this does not necessarily mean the issue of software patents will go away.
We would instead be left with national Patent Offices in each member state deciding their policy, no doubt under pressure from large US interests to follow the US route and allow wide patentability for software.
Given the recent record of UK-US relations and the position of the UK Govt and Patent Office in supporting the current EU Directive I would not have any confidence that an 'independent' UK decision on this would be better than a collective EU one. We might rather find our Government signing up to a more US-like model without the collective will of all EU states to resist this.
2. Colin Saxton
You have not read what the directive would mean. The current wording will allow US style patents *anyway*. Its just a way of wording the same system differently.
Software patents is going to, dangerously, place alot of power in a few large corporate hands. If you understood what this means in the next 20 years then you wouldn't be talking in a calm manner.
Once software patents are in then the world as you and me know it is going to change in such a big way that your children are going to see the devastating consequences of what this means.
This issue has been swept under the carpet and kept as quiet as possible but the underlying agenda is world chaning. Please look deeper to what this means.
Software patents will give 80% control to the IT infrastructure of the world to a few key western/US corporates. This is something that you do not want to happen.
3. Simon McDonald
Wheras we cannot know for sure UKIP's motives for opposing software copyrights it can be said that they are drawing more widespread attention to this huge legal and political matter.
This matter affects all who use, purchase or create software.