The UK High Court has over-ruled a decision by the UK Intellectual Property Office in regards to their application for a patent for their method of indexing library functions (reports IT Pro). The UK-IPO had turned down this application, although the European Patent Office had granted it (the UK office does not recognise patents which are 'nothing more than a computer program,' where Europe does), hence their appeal to the High Court. While the case is concluded, the UK-IPO office has indicated that it will appeal the judgement.
Read on in the full article.
Better ever than newer LOL
Software patents are bad. VERY bad.
Not necessarily. BAD software patents are definitely bad though....
This whole situation is really founded on just 2 important points:
1. Free software advocates seem to believe they should have the right to copy anything and
everything they want free of charge.
2. Incompetent patent offices just don't have a clue about software engineering and therefore
issue idiotic patents while denying patents on genuine work.
Essentially real engineers putting real skill, time, money and resources into developing technologies
we all need are being ripped off by a government determined to wipe out any and all engineering,
manufacturing, production skills and industry within the UK and justifying it by the supporting a pressure group of nothing more than freeloading gangsters.
Patent offices need to employ people who understand the technology, government needs to be removed as the traitors to the nation they are and freeloaders at the free software foundation need to get back to whatever it is they do instead of copying other peoples work and claiming the moral highground for simply duplicating and distributing other peoples work.
In the music and video industry they have a word for that.