4 ms·

I think Europe does allow software patents of a sort: See https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/j.htm https://www.epo.org/law-practice/

by josaka 6y ago

I think Europe does allow software patents of a sort: See https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/j.htm https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines... Or you might have a particular definition of the term in mind that excludes these, but I think when most folks here the term, they'd include what the EPO permits.

speedgoose 6y ago
The European patent office is not an official thing. It's an independent private organization that will gladly take your money to submit patents.
- AdrianB1 6y ago
  The European Patent Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation (https://www.epo.org/about-us/foundation.html https://www.epo.org/about-us/foundation.html). Not a private organization.
  - speedgoose 6y ago
    Alright, I was wrong. Still strange that they issue patents that are obviously invalid.
    - vertex-four 6y ago
      The reasoning is that individual states have Opinions about the validity of software patents and they're going to keep issuing them until somebody with the proper authority clarifies that the law means what the law says, although as far as I can tell none have actually been successfully enforced.
    - AdrianB1 6y ago
      I know quite well a patent examiner there; there is a lot of politics and incompetence in appointing people and a lot of pressure to accept most of the patents they receive, if I understood correctly part of the reason is politics (if you refuse, even stupid patents, influential people will get upset) and part is the idea to have as many patents as possible as a measure of European creativity and innovation and ... bla-bla. Universities and research institutes are measured by the number of patents and if they don't invent something good, they will patent something stupid just to get the numbers right.

4 ms·

I think Europe does allow software patents of a sort: See https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/j.htm https://www.epo.org/law-practice/

by josaka 6y ago

speedgoose 6y ago
The European patent office is not an official thing. It's an independent private organization that will gladly take your money to submit patents.
- AdrianB1 6y ago
  The European Patent Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation (https://www.epo.org/about-us/foundation.html https://www.epo.org/about-us/foundation.html). Not a private organization.
  - speedgoose 6y ago
    Alright, I was wrong. Still strange that they issue patents that are obviously invalid.
    - vertex-four 6y ago
      The reasoning is that individual states have Opinions about the validity of software patents and they're going to keep issuing them until somebody with the proper authority clarifies that the law means what the law says, although as far as I can tell none have actually been successfully enforced.
    - AdrianB1 6y ago
      I know quite well a patent examiner there; there is a lot of politics and incompetence in appointing people and a lot of pressure to accept most of the patents they receive, if I understood correctly part of the reason is politics (if you refuse, even stupid patents, influential people will get upset) and part is the idea to have as many patents as possible as a measure of European creativity and innovation and ... bla-bla. Universities and research institutes are measured by the number of patents and if they don't invent something good, they will patent something stupid just to get the numbers right.