Coalition Being Formed Next Month to Restrict Software Patents

Smelling blood in the patent waters, the Free Software Foundation has spearheaded an organization, called the "End Software Patents" (ESP) coalition, that aims to curb software patents in the U.S. While the organization has not officially formed yet, the coalition has obtained seed funding of a quarter million dollars (from sources that aren't being disclosed), and is planning on a formal launch towards the end of November.

The coalition leader will be Ben Klemens, guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, and author of Math You Can't Use: Patents, Copyright, and Software. Klemens commented that the group will be active in advocacy projects, and intends to partake in legislative in judiciary matters in an effort to redefine patentable subject matter. "Our sole goal is to fix patentable subject matter. That's the gaping wound in patent law today. Not everything should be patentable, and this is true whether you look at it legally, economically, or ethically."

According to ESP organizers, there has "never been a better time to challenge software patents directly in the United States . . . Once we restore a rule that not everything can be patented, the rest of patent reform will either fall into place naturally or be much easier to fix."

• Read Linux.com article "Software patent abolition campaign will launch next month" (link)

• Read Klemens article "Drawing the Line: The Rise of the Information Processing Patent." (link)

• Read the transcript from Brookings Institution symposium "Software and Law: Is Regulation Fostering or Inhibiting Innovation?"

• See earlier 271 Blog coverage on Klemens here (link)