Way to go Poland for (once again) stalling the process of the EU ruling/deciding on Software Patents within the EU. Many aspects of the proposals, and current laws/regulations in some other countries in regards to software patens are truly and unquestionably stupid!
There are so many good examples of why the concept software patents is a bad idea, and for those of you who don’t care or don’t know, apply the concept to everyday life instead:
- The way you grill a steak; sorry, you can’t do that anymore without buying a license. “Yes, but this is common knowledge”, you claim! So? So is the “doubleclicking of the mouse”, “the customer shopping cart” used on many web sites, and so on..
- The way you put butter on your toast with a knife; sorry, you can’t do that anymore, we’ve filed a patent application for that. If you want to use your bare hands, that’s OK, otherwise you’ll have to buy a “butterspread license” from us. Oh, if you decide to do it with your bare hands, you might want to be careful before you wipe your hands clean with that paper towel, we’ve filed a patent for that too.
Software should be COPYRIGHTED, not PATENTED.