software patents in europe

[tingeltangelbob]

Hi guys
Just to clear some things up. The new european software patent directive still requires "technicity" in every patent! This is the case right now and will be when the new directive is in action. Technicity means: only software code is not enough, there must be something new in the way you handle some technical thing. But technicity is not required in the US. They can patent every software snippet over there. But there are NO software-patents in Europe! The media is reporting quiet misleading concerning software patents! See wikipedia for a definition of technicity!
leo

[simon]

Unfortunatly, you are right, you don't patent code, you patent an idea. wich is even worse.
For code there's copyright.
patenting ideas is a very strange thing....

there are some patented software in EU even thoug it isn't allowed to patent software

[joelovesvlc]

Will all this really matter though considering this is free open-source software? How can they tell you to stop developing something like this when you arent selling it? I can't help you with the European patents as I am not in Europe, but believe me I would if I could.

Please even if this stuff comes to fruitation do not stop developing your great program. You cannot be affected by it! Please

[Greg Anderson]

Guys. Just keep doing what you are doing and fight the good fight. The law has become a mockery and as you can see no one can look to the laws implimented in Europe or the US for justice or common sense on this subject when they are being bought by big companies and implimented by corrupt officials and politicans.

VLC and MPlayer are excellent products, well appreciated by many people on all platforms. If you stop now you are doing an enormous dis-service to future generations of developers. The 'mission' the free software movement and it's 1000's of participants took on is a mission. Rather than cow-towing to whatever crap comes out of Brussels you actually have a responsibility to fight for what you are doing because there are huge issues at stake for everyone.

[simon]

Will all this really matter though considering this is free open-source software? How can they tell you to stop developing something like this when you arent selling it? I can't help you with the European patents as I am not in Europe, but believe me I would if I could.

Please even if this stuff comes to fruitation do not stop developing your great program. You cannot be affected by it! Please

people who develop free software are actualy most affected because they usualy can't afford to be sued by the big companies holding the patents.

And it does'n matter if you sell it or not, you aren't even allowed to write it in the first place. it would even be illegal to write it for yourself.

and even if you'r not a EU member you can still tell the minister's what you think! it would be good if people outside of the EU would help stopping this.
We need all help we can get!

//simon

[joelovesvlc]

Simon: Please tell me who to contact and how. All it states on that page is to contact your local EU guy. I am outside of Europe. I have no local one. There needs to be info given, so those outside of Europe can help.

About them sueing the VLC developers. I honestly don't see that ever happening. If it ever passes they could still develop and possibly down the line they would get a letter/email saying to stop developing the program and take down the links immediately or face the consequences. They don't have the money to sue all these free developers for no reason at all really.

If this law passes and forces them to stop developing vlc it will be the worst crap law that has ever happened. I just don't understand how it can happen. What about Linux for instance? It is completely different OS from windows.. What patents are being infringed here with VLC and the like?

I dont understand really.

[The DJ]

The problem is this:

Lawsuits will come if patents are implemented
FOSS developers won't be able to defend themselves because they can't afford lawsuits that take several years.

That immediatly leads to the fact that FOSS developers will be less inclined to keep being part of the FOSS community. What's the use of doing something for free when you are being obstructed by others.

Just look what a hit PearPC development took when it became apparent another company ran away with their source and decided to release it as CherryOS.
Different situation, but the same lack of motivation will get into patent encumbered application development

[simon]

Simon: Please tell me who to contact and how. All it states on that page is to contact your local EU guy. I am outside of Europe. I have no local one. There needs to be info given, so those outside of Europe can help.

contact the EU:
http://www.eu.int/geninfo/mailbox/index_en.htm

swedish ministers(Thomas Bodström is the most important of theese):
http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/2078

About them sueing the VLC developers. I honestly don't see that ever happening. If it ever passes they could still develop and possibly down the line they would get a letter/email saying to stop developing the program and take down the links immediately or face the consequences. They don't have the money to sue all these free developers for no reason at all really.

They can't sue all, but how are you going to get people to switch to free software if most is illegal?

If this law passes and forces them to stop developing vlc it will be the worst crap law that has ever happened. I just don't understand how it can happen. What about Linux for instance? It is completely different OS from windows.. What patents are being infringed here with VLC and the like?

I dont understand really.

you should listen to some theese speeches about patents:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html#Speeches

//simon

[Guest]

Thanks for the information. I sent Tom an email about the issues at hand. I don't know if he will even ever read it, but I hope he does and takes into consideration what I have said.

Please everyone else also send him emails. If he gets enough he will surely take what we are saying and doing something about it.


Hello,

It is my understanding that you guys have plans to pass a law to basically make it illegal to develop great free programs such as VLC http://www.videolan.org/patents.html

I would like a serious reply on why you plan on passing a law to do this? You would upset a great many people if you pass this law. The programs listed on that page are used by many people and everyone loves them. If you guys force them to stop, it will do nothing but anger people.

Please don't even consider passing that patent law. You will hurt innocent people in the long run. At least modify the law to allow free, open source devs to keep doing what they are doing.

Fight the good fight!

[anjori]

I am also outside of the EU (Canada) and thought it would be useless to contact members as I'm sure they don't care what people outside of their jurisdiction think. However, since you've posted contact info above I'll at least give it a try. VLC is the most inventive and efficient player I've ever used. It would be a huge loss for it (and other projects such as MPlayer) to disappear.

I'm mainly a Windows user, but have been dipping into GNU/Linux more and more frequently as of late. To lose VLC, Xine, MPlayer, and others would leave virtually nothing for video multimedia on the platform. VLC is the only player I've been able to use to open wmv files on Linux. I've heard Mplayer also has a lot of the same capabilities as far as codec support goes, but I've never used it, personally. I can't image what it would be like without any of these.

Where is VideoLAN based, by the way?

[The DJ]

VideoLAN is largely based in France.

[simon]

Here are some good pointers for writing too the ministers:
http://www.ffii.org.uk/players/council/ ... #effective
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/help/contact.html

I have written to a bunch of politicans but I rarely get responses, do they respond to your letters? what did you write them? what did they say?

[Anunnaki]

This proposed legislature is another thing that shows us the way the "society" is taking, is not the way of the big benefit for individuals.

Even tho' its always always being presented so. Name me a law of recently that actually had the citizens benefit as its core idea .. yes please?

okay, so put it in other words:

It is my deepest concern that - yet again - there are laws being "stamped" on the community that in its effect discourages the many many mirco developers, the many single creative soul spending spare time on a project just for fun and simply for doing it.

We give even more power to those completely useless IP (Intellectual property) companies, that basically don't have a single usefull thing to sell, except a "theory" the most often dont even can have acredited to them

Sad. Very sad. But you know, this is no surprise in the EU, if you consider other legislative enforcements of the recent time, where I could just name the subject of the "pharma" industries.

Company feudalism - the more you understand macciaveli, the better you fit in.

I just had to let a few thoughts out... sorry

[Guest]

Please release a new final with all codecs or what have you possible. I do not want to see vlc disappear(none of us do), but if it does it would be good to at least have one more final build for all to enjoy. I can't see any major codec coming out in the near future that wouldn't stop me from using vlc 7 years from now.

Just please fight this everyone. Contact these --please stay polite--. Keep VLC alive!

[simon]

It has been going downhill for a long time now....

Lets just hope they do the right thing on the 6th


http://noepatents.eu.org/index.php/NO_Software_Patents