Poland Saves Us From Software Patents for now

i just wanted to thank the Polish for some clear thinking on the potential dangers of software patenting. at a time when big vendors are getting more aggressive about patenting anything that moves–and often these are things they already know rest on prior art, its good to see a national government asking some tough questions about big company dominance through intellectual property law. patents should not only be there for the protection of large companies with vast teams of lawyers.

Here is the Reg’s take.

Go Poland! “The questionable compromise that the EU Council reached in May was the biggest threat ever to our economic growth, and to our freedom of communication,” said Wladyslaw Majewski, president of the Internet Society of Poland. “The desire of the patent system and the patent departments of certain large corporations must never prevail over the interests of the economy and society at large.” Go Wladyslaw!

Its really good to see one of the EU’s new nations flexing its muscles, so soon after the European parliament showed its not a lame duck by heading off the appointment of a bigot as justice minister. Europe may be conservative with a small c, old and sklerotic, but it seems to do a pretty good job from time to time. there is currently a fashion for calling it the new world leader-i wouldnt go that far but i do believe in social justice, fair competition, fair trials, the geneva convention and other such quaint contructs.

So Thanks Poland! Welcome to Europe. Thanks for the intellectual leadership.