New Group's Mission is Clear: End Software Patents
Feb 28, 2008
As its name suggests, the End Software Patents (ESP) project is not a fan of patenting software. The coalition, which formally launched today, hopes to do away with the practice altogether by advocating new legislation that would exempt software and business methods from patent law and by helping companies fight such patents in the courts and at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
According to a statement by ESP's executive director Ben Klemens, "Software patents endanger both software developers and businesses, ironically stifling the very innovation that the U.S. patent system was intended to foster." ESP tried to drive that point home by publishing a report on the economic impact of software patents, estimating that U.S. businesses spend $11.4 billion in litigation each year.
The group, whose backers include the Free Software Foundation and the Software Freedom Law Center, is also offering a $10K prize for the best paper on "the effects of the patentability of software and business methods under U.S. law." The call for papers is open now; initial replies are due by April 7th.
Tags:
End Software Patents, Patents, USPTO
