THE one country which did a spectacular job not just at software development but also denial of patents on software is India. Suffice to say, patent maximalists aren't happy about it. Here is IAM calling for software patents in India, a country which is globally known for resistance to the patent microcosm (standing up to pharmaceutical patents and software patents for instance).

"A lot of those pushing for software patents in India are actually foreign monopolists.""It will take more than tax breaks to encourage valuable IP growth in India’s software and biotech industries" says the headline from IAM (not reporting but lobbying, as usual). Pursuing software patents even though it's not legal (India forbids these) is just so common a routine at IAM that only days ago it published this "report" from Indian law firms that try to be 'clever' about it and dodge the rules. The latest bit of lobbying says: "filing figures organised by technological field (see table below) suggest that appetite for trying to obtain patents on computer-related and biotech inventions in the country has been dropping off in recent years, while applications on mechanical inventions have grown substantially (though it is possible that some re-categorisation under ‘Other fields’ may also be at play here). Again, this doesn’t mean that Indian innovation in these areas is on a downward trend. But it perhaps gives an indication of how domestic and foreign companies alike value Indian patents – and that is something that they almost certainly factor in to their decisions about making R&D investments in the country."

A lot of those pushing for software patents in India are actually foreign monopolists. Infosys, an Indian giant, is against these and the only Indians we ever see speaking for software patents are lawyers/attorneys. IAM is their megaphone. ⬆