June 9-12 in Berlin - http://www.linuxtag.org/2010/

FFII workshop: current developments in software patents, open standards, etc.

We did an informal workshop, where interested people discussed current matters in software patents, open standards and other FFII topics.

We set up an Etherpad where we gathered and shared information ad hoc during the workshop.

Topics we discussed:

• UPLS current developments

  • introduction by Benjamin Henrion

    • http://epla.ffii.org/

    • http://epla.ffii.org/forum/t-247025/notes-of-secret-upls-meeting-at-the-ecj-leaks

    • http://epla.ffii.org/forum/t-240861/no-power-for-the-parliament-warns-epo-examiners-association

    • http://epla.ffii.org/forum/t-240045/what-s-wrong-with-the-upls-presentation-at-knowrights2010-conference

• The german BGH's extreme pro software patents stance
  • introduction by Hartmut Pilch

    • http://eupat.ffii.org/10/05/bgh/: "The Patent Senate of the Federal Court (Bundesgerichtshof) declares software solutions to be patentable. What is not patentable are business methods in which software is not part of the problem solution. Computer programs as such (i.e. systems that solve data processing problems) are patentable. Thereby the court officialises the most radical implications of the Seitenpuffer (side buffer) decision of 1991 and shuts all doors toward legality that its recently retired presiding judge, Dr. Klaus Melullis, had been trying to reopen."

  • german analysis by Peter Gerwinski, FFII

    http://patinfo.ffii.org/bgh2010.de.html

  • blog post by patent attorney Axel Horns:

    http://www.ipjur.com/blog2/index.php?/archives/153-German-Supreme-Court-on-Patents-on-Computer-Implemented-Inventions.html

Topcis we only could touch because two hours went by too fast

• EPO Brimelow referral

• The Bilski patent before the U.S. Supreme Court (decision should be out by late May/within June 2010)

• ACTA

• Brokkoli-Biopat (oral hearing at the EPO scheduled for 20 & 21 July 2010)

Log notes from the Etherpad:

• EU process to adopt laws
• data retention directive example
• telecom package (community not involved at the EU level)
• lobby fear
• one campaigner is worth 20 lobbyists
• no pan-european organisation
• access to documents from EU parliament and the council
• transfer of soverignety in DE, same in the UK?
• institutional design
• Ex: technical judges (masqueraded patent attorneys)
• ACTA
• EU vs National Parliaments
• Juducial activism
• what to do?
  • write your MEP and alert him/her about the UPLS issue
  • help him to ask questions to the commission

  • information about the problems of UPLS at http://epla.ffii.org

• No power for the Parliament
• Bilski

• http://als-solche.de (website by a critical patent examiner in Germany)

Participants

• Stephan Uhlmann, FFII
• Benjamin Henrion, FFII
• A. Rebentisch, FFII
• Hartmut Pilch, FFII
• ...and 9 more people

Pictures

Video interviews

After the workshop we recorded some interviews on video, which will be published soon.

• Hartmut Pilch, about the recent BGH decision, English
• Benjamin Henrion, about current developments UPLS, English
• Hartmut Pilch, about software patents in general and the recent BGH decision, German

Links

• Link to the workshop in the official program:

  http://www.linuxtag.org/2010/en/program/free-conference/all-events/details.html?talkid=661

• LinuxTag 2010 official website: http://www.linuxtag.org/2010/

• Other years of LinuxTag FFII participation: Linux Tag Berlin

• Blog post by Michael (Majestyx) Kappes about the workshop