This week, we finally learned that the questions The European Patent Office (EPO) sent two year ago to clarify what can be patented where inadmissible by its own patent high court, The Extended Board of Appeals (EBA). Its all the usual mess from EPO with slippery and indecisive wordings creating endless loops without clarifications.
EPO seems unable to repair itself...
EPO issues criticized software and business method patents even though its ruled by a convention excluding patents on calculations, information and software. The Appeals Courts of the EPO circumvented those rules by allowing something already known like a pen and paper to play that "non excluded" part. By separating whats "new" from whats "excluded" in patent claims they created a loophole rendering anything abstract patentable.
This has created an inflation in broad and abstract information and business patents flooding the European market, creating a legal mine field for anyone wanting to participate. Its a land grab for lawyers and patent trolls.
As EPO is clearly incapable making sense out of its own conventions and rulings, its high time for politicians to step in. These uncertainties cost an increasing risk to business in the European market.
To put an extra spin on this mess, the EPO PR interpret this non decision as a win for software patents. Hilarious and said, since this is just right - leaving questions unanswered and matters diffused is just what made this situation from the start.
Se also:
ComputerWorld UK
-
-
-
/Jonas Bosson
No comments:
Post a Comment