[Flug] Fwd: Let the EC know what you think about software patents

[Alessandro Zarrilli]

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
Subject: Let the EC know what you think about software patents
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2000 10:16:18 +0100 (CET)
From: petition@eurolinux.org
To: drsound@editnet.it


Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,

The European Commission is currently researching the economic impact of
software patents. For quite obvious reasons, many patent attorneys and
IP lawyers who earn money through the patent system are currently
 lobbying the European Commission in favor of a broad extension of the
 patent system to software, business methods, intellectual methods,
 etc.

Unless you express your own opinion, only their opinion will be taken
 into account in the decision process, whatever the consequences on
 your business, whatever the consequences on innovation.

It is therefore very important and urgent, if you consider software
 patents to be more harmful than useful, to send your opinion by email
 to:

	consultation@eurolinux.org

as soon as possible and, in any case, before December 15th, 2000. You
can write in the official language of any member country of the
 European Union.

Your email will then be forwarded to the European Commission and
 published on the EuroLinux Web in order to make sure that your point
 of view is taken into consideration:

	http://petition.eurolinux.org/consultation

There is currently a consensus among economists on the fact that
 software patents tend to stifle innovation and harm small and medium
 enterprises because they create tremendous juridical uncertainty which
 only benefits to patent attorneys and lawyers. There is also a
 consensus among patent attorneys on the fact that patents on business
 methods are just a kind of software patents and that it is impossible
 to ban business method patents once software patents become legal.

Please write serious (but not necessarily long) emails, with a
 consistent analysis based on economics, technology or real world
 examples from your everyday practice. Here are a few advice for your
 email to reach maximal impact within the European Commission:

	1- NO POLITICS - Do not include in your emails any political analysis.
Otherwise, certain civil servants at the European Commission will
 pretend that you are politically biased and claim that your arguments
 are irrelevant.

	2- FREE MARKET RHETORICS - Use rhetorics based on free market,
competition, innovation, entrepreneurship, SMEs and property, just as
 if you were the chief of the federation of enterprises in your
 country. EuroLinux has experienced that "free market economy" is
 currently the only common language which most civil servants at the
 European Commission understand. In order to let them understand your
 point of view and take it into account, it is compulsory to speak
 their language. Arguments based on epistemology, ethics or history are
 acceptable but have in general no positive impact on the European
 Commission because only few people will understand them.

	3- DAVOS COMPATIBLE - Imagine that you are introducing your point of
view at the Davos Economic Forum in front of CEOs who will only listen
 to you if your arguments mean more profits to them. Incidentally, many
 Commissioners at the European Commission used to be members of the
 steering committee of the Davos Economic Forum.

	4- CONSENSUS AMONG ECONOMISTS - Always mention that there is a
consensus among economists on the fact that software patents harm
 innovation.

Please understand that our advice does not represent any political
 point of view of the EuroLinux Alliance and is strictly designed at
 helping you to present your arguments in such way that they are going
 to be taken into account by the European Commission.

For more information on software patents, please read our knowledge
database and follow the links:

	http://petition.eurolinux.org/consultation
	http://petition.eurolinux.org/pr/pr5.html

If you need inspiration to write your own statement, you may also
 access our statements database where 100 European companies have
 already published position statements:

	http://petition.eurolinux.org/statements

Best regards,

EuroLinux Alliance
petition@eurolinux.org
http://petition.eurolinux.org

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