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NAFTA mandates software patents - opposing viewpoints welcome
From: David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 1993 08:45:48 -0400
From: lpf () uunet uu net (The League for Programming Freedom) Sender: friedman () frob com NAFTA and Software Patents by the League for Programming Freedom If you believe software patents are harmful to software development--or that the patent system for software has problems and needs to be changed--or if you are *not yet sure*--then you need to be concerned about NAFTA now. Opposition to software patents seems to be the majority view in our field. Two ACM surveys at well-attended conferences (SIGCHI and SIGGRAPH) showed a large majority of attendees entirely opposed to software patents. Most of the software companies applying for patents say their actions are for defensive purposes, because they fear being attacked with patents. Among those not prepared to advocate a system of no patents in software--the system the US had until a decade ago--many agree that some change needs to be made. Even the Patent Office has recognized there is a problem, and has scheduled hearings for 1994. But before the hearings start, NAFTA may make them futile. NAFTA probably directly or indirectly prohibits all the proposed approaches for addressing the problem. Those of us entirely opposed to software patents would like to eliminate them. There are two ways of doing this. One is to exempt software from the patent system. NAFTA clearly bars such a change, by requiring that patents apply to products of any kind. Another way is not to issue patents that cover computational steps alone. (This approach would not do anything about the thousands of existing software patents.) NAFTA does not directly address this sort of rule, but the "all fields of technology" requirement may rule out this approach. (There is no way to find out for certain now; what we can predict is that IBM will argue that it is ruled out.) On the other hand, if we do not abolish software patents entirely, we could reduce their harmful impact by changing other aspects of the software patent system. For example, some have proposed that patents on software should last just a few years, since a program a few years old is obsolete for most commercial purposes. But NAFTA requires patents to last at least seventeen years. An automatic mandatory licensing system could eliminate most of the problems that patents cause. However, NAFTA forbids any sort of automatic mandatory licensing. The conclusion: if you believe that software patents cause problems and that a change in the patent system *might* be necessary for software, then join us now in calling for the rejection of NAFTA as it stands, so that this part can be changed. What you should do is write or phone your senators and representative. A brief letter in your own words is the most effective way to communicate your views to them. The following addresses work for all federal legislators: Honorable ... US Senate Washington DC 20510 Honorable ... US House of Representatives Washington DC 20515 It is also useful to send a copy to Representative Gephardt (one of the leading opponents of NAFTA as it stands) as well as your own elected officials. If you write your letter by computer, it would be helpful to send a copy by email to lpf () uunet uu net. We could show these copies on other occasions such as when the Patent Office reconsiders the issue. A second proposed treaty, GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), has even stronger requirements on patents. So it would be useful to mention in your letter that you are concerned about GATT as well.
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- NAFTA mandates software patents - opposing viewpoints welcome David Farber (Oct 30)