If Free/Libre Software is Adding Trillions in Value to the European Economy, Then the European Commission Must Crush Software Patents

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Aug 13, 2025,
updated Aug 13, 2025

Further to what we wrote yesterday

2024: "Open Source Software: The $9 Trillion Resource Companies Take for Granted" (The Value of Open Source Software)

2020: "Economic savings for scientific free and open source technology: A review" (alternate links: 1, 2]

2009: "How Open Source Can Still Save the World"

2007: Study on the effect on the development of the information society of European public bodies making their own software available as open source

2005: Gosh, R.A. and Glott, R. "Free/Libre and Open Source Software: Policy Support". FLOSSPOLS: Government Survey Report, MERIT, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, 1-103.

Yesterday's article about the European software patents being granted by the EPO in violation of the law (albeit approved by kangaroo courts including BoA and UPC/Unitary Patent - both unconstitutional, though the European Commission (EC) actively participated in crushing constitutions) was missing the rebuttal or the links to the rebuttals to weak arguments, or so argued a reader. The politicians were attempting to pretend opposition to software patents came from the Free software community, even though such patents also harm proprietary software developers and companies.

Regardless, even if it was a Free software or FOSS thing, "the value of FOSS was big news in past decades," the reader said. "That's what the EC report is pointedly choosing to ignore".

Even 20 years ago Gosh et al issued high-profile reports about it, in turn cited by Groklaw, which seems to have lost its articles/copies.

The power of lobbying (or bribery) by Microsoft et al can still be seen in Europe. We're fast becoming a lawless society where bribery is considered acceptable [1, 2]. █

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