Softwarepatenten.be

In een net gepubliceerd rapport dat het bureau PriceWaterHouseCoopers opstelde in opdracht van het Nederlandse ministerie van Economische Zaken staat het zwart op wit. Softwarepatenten verhinderen een innovatief klimaat, en het milde besschermingsregime tot nu toe heeft juist geleid tot een zeer competitieve en innovatieve softwarebranche. Het rapport, dat aanbevelingen doet om de doelstellingen van de Lissabonstrategie te halen, gaat volledig in tegen het huidige standpunt van de Nederlandse regering. Die weigert namelijk haar steun aan softwarepatenten terug in te trekken.

De bewuste passage (p. 52):

There are particular threats to the European ICT industry such as the current discussion on the patent on software. The mild regime of IP protection in the past has led to a very innovative and competitive software industry with low entry barriers. A software patent, which serves to protect inventions of a non-technical nature, could kill the high innovation rate. However, opinions on software patent in its current proposed form vary a lot. Many large companies operating on a global scale, including European ones, seem to be in favour of a software patenting regime. But most small enterprises are strongly opposed. Only very few European companies have prepared themselves for the consequences of a software patent regime. It raises the question how the introduction of the European software patent interacts with a European strategy based on widespread use of ICT's.

Bron: Rethinking the European ICT Agenda -- Ten ICT-breakthroughs for reaching Lisbon goals

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