Summary: India's software industry is at risk due to revisions which act as provisions to software patenting loopholes
WE frequently write about -- and commend -- India and its de facto ban on software patents in the country. It's one of those things where India found the right balance that better serves the interests of the Indian people (the same goes for generics and a plethora of other policies).
"Sadly, India too is being muscled and manipulated into similar policies. Lobbyists constantly try to interject changes which -- to their clients -- may mean millions if not billions of dollars (in 'protection' money)."Over here in Europe we often hear from patent examiners who are pressured to grant software patents. It got a lot worse under Brimelow, not Battistelli, who took it to a whole new level at the EPO which he rapidly reduces to rubble. Since the “as such” loophole we have reached the point where large law firms openly state that it's easier to get software patents at the EPO than at the USPTO. That's just how bad things have become.
Sadly, India too is being muscled and manipulated into similar policies. Lobbyists constantly try to interject changes which -- to their clients -- may mean millions if not billions of dollars (in 'protection' money). Lobbyists like these work for foreign companies and their interests are clearly subversive to the indigenous population.
After our article from yesterday we found that Indian media still talks about the subject (e.g. [1, 2]). Some good folks from India got in touch with us (e.g. [1, 2]) and some told us about this response from technical people. "In the new proposed clause (k)," it says, "the words ''per se" have been inserted..."
How familiar...
"Know thy enemy, India. There are a bunch of so-called 'publishers', so-called 'trade' groups (lobbyists), patent lawyers and firms like IBM that attempt to subvert and/or hijack your laws so as to enable legalised looting of the Indian industry and Indian people."It's that classic loophole we saw in Europe and in New Zealand. The "revised software patent guidelines are a disaster," Anubha Sinha is quoted to us as saying, and "will harm Indian industry..."
Obviously!
India makes software, not litigation.
Earlier today we were rather disgusted to see the London-based IAM, a front for patent trolls which had shamed and bullied India on this matter many times so far this year (e.g. [1-7] below) along with other front groups, saying that the changes "appear" to be good (to trolls). To quote: "The new standards appear to lower the bar for securing protection in the field. But for many IP owners, the real killer isn’t the still-strict standards on software patent eligibility, but rather the uncertainty created by what seem to be annual shifts towards and away from CRIs."
Know thy enemy, India. There are a bunch of so-called 'publishers', so-called 'trade' groups (lobbyists), patent lawyers and firms like IBM that attempt to subvert and/or hijack your laws so as to enable legalised looting of the Indian industry and Indian people. This isn't even beneficial to the West; it's beneficial to very few people in the West, notably the patent microcosm that comprises patent law firms, trolls, and bullies. In the interests of software developers (globally-speaking) we need Indians to rebel against all that lobbying and restore sanity. Copyrights already cover the work of software developers and they know it's sufficient. ⬆
_________