2004-11 UK Government Publishes Software Patent Propaganda Brochure

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The UK Patent Office, which is in charge of the UK government's patent policy as part of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has published on its server a glossy brochure to spread a very partial view of the proposed EU directive "on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions"; which the UK Patent Office has been trying to achieve for the last 10 years, to confirm and impose on the rest of Europe its practice of granting software patents, against the letter and spirit of the 1973 European Patent Convention.

News & Chronology

• 2004-11-03 UK brochure appears on UK server

• 2004-11-05 EU Florian Mueller: Old and New Lies from UKPO

• 2004-11-07 UK The Inquirer: UK Patent Office pamphlet gets vicious kicking

• 2004-11-08 EU Short FFII counter-leaflet (also usable as introduction paper)

• 2004-11-08 UK ZDNet.co.uk: UK Patent Office under fire over software report

• 2004-11-08 UK Christian Beauprez publishes comments

• 2004-11-11 UK UKPO explains its role in patent legislation

Outline

• the brochure (softpat.pdf on UKPO server)

• UKPO on Swpat Issues

• Alex Hudson's comments

• Separation of Powers (Wikipedia) -- interfering in the formation of public opinion about legislative questions is not strictly a function of government agencies.