European Greens against software patents
Dear Members of the German Greens in the Bundestag,
Dear Members of the Greens in the European Parliament,
There is a vote this afternoon at 3PM on the ratification by Germany of the UPC.
The software patent directive of 2005 was rejected at the request of
multinationals, who preferred to push for a trusted patent court instead of modifying the substantive patent law.
The Greens always had a clear position on this issue of software
patenting at the EU level, and a clear position during the European
Elections.
We recommended to our numerous supporters to vote for the Greens during the european elections in each of their countries because the Greens were the only party with a clear position on this issue, as other political parties were split.
IF YOU VOTE FOR THE UPC THIS AFTERNOON IN THE BUNDESTAG, WE WILL MAKE SURE YOUR ELECTORS IN GERMANY AND ELSEWHERE WILL BE INFORMED THAT YOU BETRAYED THEM IN NOT KEEPING YOUR ELECTORAL PROMISES, IN THAT THE TRUST THEY GAVE TO YOU BY VOTING FOR YOUR PARTY IS BROKEN.
I will personally make sure this betrayal is well documented and in the media.
We had a similar issue during the ratification in Belgium.
Please read carrefully our open letter we sent few days back:
https://ffii.org/is-germany-competing-with-hungary-and-poland-on-the-worst-rule-of-law-award-with-its-rushed-ratification-of-the-unitary-patent/
https://ffii.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ffii-upc-bundestag-europe.pdf
Best regards,
Benjamin Henrion
FFII e.V.
“In July 2005, after several failed attempts to legalise software patents in Europe, the patent establishment changed its strategy. Instead of explicitly seeking to sanction the patentability of software, they are now seeking to create a central European patent court, which would establish and enforce patentability rules in their favor, without any possibility of correction by competing courts or democratically elected legislators.”
“As for the supposed reduction of costs pursued by the regulation : “the proposal will reduce the cost of registration but it will increase the overall cost of patent protection because litigation will become more complicated and expensive“
http://rememberjuly6th.wikidot.com/press-release:ict-industry-warns-meps
Kluwer: Are you concerned German re-ratification will be pushed through parliament? Is there enough support for the UPC in Germany?
Patrick Breyer MEP: ”This will likely depend on the German Greens. In the past they have agreed with the principle of a unitary patent system and voted in favour.”