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They do exist in Europe, and indeed many companies patent things in Europe to take advantage of legislation like Patentbox.
by geocar 9y ago
They do exist in Europe, and indeed many companies patent things in Europe to take advantage of legislation like Patentbox.
- amelius 9y agoOkay, I looked it up, and strictly speaking you are right, [1]. But, quoting: "The European Patent Convention (EPC), Article 52, paragraph 2, excludes from patentability, in particular 1. discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods; 2. aesthetic creations; 3. schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, and programs for computers; 4. presentations of information." I believe the patent in question falls under 4, 3 and perhaps 2. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_patents_under_the_European_Patent_Convention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_patents_under_the_Eur...
- neotek 9y agoThat's all well and good, but if you get sued you still have to pay quite a lot of money to a lawyer to prove you're right, and even if you win you're still stuck with the bill.
- Iaaj 9y agoIsn't that the case for literally anything and everything?
- cloverich 9y agoGiven the description of the law -- is that something that happens a lot in Europe? (patent troll's actually suing, and people actually defending). Your comment suggests it does unless I"m mis-reading but I'm curious what that's based on.
- PatentTroll 9y agoSome are heralding the European courts as the next hot venue for patent trolling. I am not super current on it but so far I don't think that's particularly materialized. I think the delay and uncertainty of the UPC has a lot to do with it.
- PeterisP 9y agoEU system is a bit different - first, you're not stuck with the bill as in USA, and second, there would be no patent so no reason to sue. Unlike prior art, which often needs to be proven in court, disallowing software patents as a class means that this patent simply would not get issued in EU.