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Economists Question European Patent Plan
by William New
A group of European economists this week voiced "grave concerns" about the proposed directive on patenting computer-implemented inventions that the European Parliament is expected to consider on Sept. 1.
"While clothed as an administrative clarification, the proposed directive will provide opportunities and incentives for the construction of extensive portfolios of software patents," the economists wrote in an open letter to Parliament. "The exploitation of these portfolios will have serious detrimental effects on European innovation, growth and competitiveness."
The problem, they argued, is that software patents hurt small firms, which can compete if they do not have the additional costs and uncertainties associated with patents. Small and medium-sized firms play a central role in European and North American software innovation, they said. The group of about a dozen (and growing) signers urged Parliament to reject the directive.
An analysis accompanying the letter critiqued several provisions of the European Union draft. For instance, it said that U.S. companies have been "piling up patents for defensive use and use in cross-licensing negotiations, and not by the need to secure returns to innovation." It noted that hardware manufacturers and IBM, which is classified as a computing service provider, secure the majority of patents in software technology.
The analysis also countered the directive's argument that software developers should not be refused the patent protection available to other inventors. The purpose of the patent system is to encourage innovation, the analysis said, and "there seems to be universal agreement to deny patentability to scientific discoveries, presumably because it is thought that granting patents on such discoveries would greatly retard scientific progress."
The economists said the draft also lacks an explanation to support its assertion that patents reduce legal uncertainty. And the critics directly questioned the validity of the claim that "academic studies" show a link between research and development spending, patent applications and productivity. The authors said there is evidence that R&D work contributes to productivity but not that patents contribute above and beyond that.
"Instead of unquestioningly accepting self-interested and often biased interpretations of the U.S. experience," concluded the analysts, who included University of Michigan professor Brian Kahin, "Europe's interest will be far better served by expending the effort to thoroughly understand the business effects of software patents."
Kahin, a former White House official, said in an interview that "as patents have expanded into areas where they don't work well as they do in say chemicals and pharmaceuticals, consensus breaks down and politics takes over. Although Europe tries to emulate the U.S. in most areas of innovation policy, there remains a great deal of hostility toward software patents among software developers and professionals on both sides of the Atlantic."
Work Toward Information Summit Progresses
Preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in December at the United Nations in Geneva continue to move forward.
U.N. volunteers and the U.N. Information Technology Service (UNITeS) have launched a Web site dedicated to the role of volunteer organizations in the summit. UNITeS also issued papers on volunteering and training in technology, and volunteers are making presentations and media appearances. There also is an online knowledge base for tech volunteers working in developing countries.
Meanwhile, organizers of the World Summit Awards, which will honor each country's best digital content at WSIS, have extended the deadline for nominations of content experts who will serve as judges, the Benton Foundation reports. The extension was granted because many nations have not yet received nominations of resident experts. The nominations are due Sunday.
Separately, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will lead his country's delegation to WSIS. By attending, the government "will try to foster a greater growth in [technology], especially in software," said Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Chairman Syed Marghub Murshed.
The official also noted the "pivotal role" that non-governmental organizations will play in the summit. The government plans to prepare a national paper on the role of technology in the country's development, the Daily Star reports.
The Canadian government, furthermore, has called on citizens to give their ideas on how technologies can be used to boost socioeconomic benefits around the world. Submissions can be made through a government Web site and are due Sept. 30.
And in other Canadian news, the government named two people to position of assistant privacy commissioner to help manage the heavier workload expected to arrive once the country's privacy law takes full effect next year. The new assistants are Raymond D'Aoust and Heather Black, the privacy commissioner's general counsel.
U.S. To Mandate Online Visa Applications
Starting this year, any potential immigrants to the United States registering for a lottery program to get visas will have to do so electronically.
"The Department of State is implementing the new electronic system in order to improve efficiency in the diversity-visa petition process and make the process less prone to fraud, thus making it less vulnerable to use by persons who may pose a threat to the security interests of the United States," the department said in a media release.
Applicants must be from countries deemed eligible by the Homeland Security Department and apply for one of the 55,000 annual visas. About 6 million people register for the program each year, and until now, all registrations were submitted by mail.
The department did not address the Internet skills among potential immigrants.
Jordan Focuses On Intellectual Property Law
The Washington-based International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI) said last week that it helped bring together more than 300 participants from government, academia and industry to discuss intellectual property protection in Jordan.
A goal of Jordan Intellectual Property Week was to "safeguard healthy economic growth and attract investment," and to move the country toward the requirements of its trade agreement with the United States, IIPI said. The issues that officials discussed included intellectual property protection and enforcement, intellectual assets as a vehicle for economic growth and business expansion, and compliance with trade treaties.
Elsewhere on the trade front, the International Trade Commission (ITC) announced last week that it is seeking input for a new investigation into the economic impacts that may result from the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a Western Hemispheric negotiation with a 2005 deadline. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative requested the investigation.
The ITC also announced a study on the economic impacts of significant U.S. import restraints, focusing specifically on tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
Broadband, Nanotechnology Events Planned
The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission of the Organization of American States is organizing a seminar on high-speed, wireless access to the Internet. The event is scheduled for Oct. 20-21 in El Salvador.
Officials from the regulatory agencies of more than 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries have confirmed their participation. Experts from the Wireless Communications Association also plan to participate to promote ways to increase broadband wireless communications.
Separately, the NanoBusiness Alliance is organizing the first-ever U.S. trade mission on nanotechnology. The trip for experts in the science of materials at the atomic and molecular levels will meet with industry experts in Germany and Switzerland from Sept. 3-11.
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