The EU is in convulsions over whether to follow the USA and introduce software patents under the "Software Patent Directive", a move which terrifies many developers in the region. Open Software groups are resorting to shock tactics to get people to wake up to the possible ramifications of the passing of the bill...
Meanwhile, ZDNet UK has pointed out that patents break the licensing model. "Not only do they threaten the ability of people to write original code and distribute it as they see fit, they effectively prevent people from commercialising open source software even when the writer is happy for this to happen and the patent holder has said that open source use is fine...Even with the best will in the world on all sides, patents are fundamentally incompatible with the essential traffic in ideas that keeps software progressing."
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