Software Patents, DRM

Ciarán O'Riordan

FSFE

My topic

Those bad things that someone has to work on

Market can't

We can leave software development to companies, but not lobbying

Why?

Doing practical work together

GNU GPL enables collaboration with people who don't share are goals

The Free Software Definition

1. Use for any purpose
2. View the source code and make modifications
3. Copy and redistribute
4. Distribute modified versions

• (Not just about you having these freedoms, but about everyone having them)

The point of free software

• Society choosing the direction technology's evolution
• Control of your computer usage
• Privacy - to prevent harassment
• National security for governments
• Cooperation in schools

Software patents key points

• Patents cover individual ideas
• Software packages can contain 1000s of ideas
• A patent means: using this idea is illegal

The 2 harms

• Software patents harm software freedom by:

1. Making software development risky in general
2. Specifically blocking the development of useful software (through patents in standards and by being used only when a package becomes successful)

• The timeframe of disclosure, application, and the 20 year term are also incompatable

Current status

• Legislation (EPC), patent offices, and national courts
• Maybe 80,000 have been granted, but are probably invalid
• Some good court rulings, some bad (like recent UK ruling)

Legislation is clear

"programs for computers / shall not be considered patentable / as such"

If this is invalid, all exclusions are invalid

June 2005

• In 1998, there was a proposal to creat software patents through legislation
• We blocked that
• Unclear situation remains
• Many minor attempts since

Nov 2009

New commission, possibly new legislation proposal

What can we improve?

Rebuild bad media image

• In 2005, most tech journalists supported us
• That time has passed
• Need to bring it back
• Every patent is a piece of bureaucracy

Terminology for EC discussions

• "Software patents" is not precise enough anymore
• The use funny definitions and dodge the topic
• We need concrete examples

Review our legislation

• We used "applied natural science", and previously "forces of nature"
• Need more descriptive wording "data processing", "information communication", "displaying information"
• Explicit exclusions: interoperability is never patent infringement

Focus on software

• Don't fight the whole patent system
• We don't need extra enemies
• We don't care about brakes that use software
• The TRIPS agreement makes some things patentable (pharma, not software)

Software is different

• Patents are restrictions - private laws
• Engineering patents are an industrial regulation
• Software, like writing a book, is something everyone can do

Focus on free software

• There are good SME arguments against software patents
• Let the SMEs make those arguments
• We don't want a solution that helps them and shafts us

Reducing examiner load

• The EPO examiners are overloaded - quality is gone terrible
• There's a lot of talk of increasing the innovative requirement - that can't work
• Clearly defining subject matter is the only reliable way to reduce their load

Recent developments

• FFII have launched a new petition: StopSoftwarePatents.eu
• More new initiatives will be launched by FSFE and others in the coming months
• The EPO patent examiners went on strike recently against the EPO policy of granting patents in too-broad a field
• (end of swpat topic)

DRM

• A vaguer topic
• Has many definitions
• Looked inevitable, then looked to fail
• It will lean on locked down devices

Can't be ok

DRM and free software are fundamentally incompatible - they have opposing goals

Phones and portable music players

• Computing is moving away from the desktop
• After 25 years, we were in a position to win, but the target is changing
• Computing is being done on things that go in your pocket or bag

Could be a big problem

• Recent iPods have encrypted firmware. Don't buy them!
• iPhones need Apple's permission to install (and thus write) software
• TiVo
• Mobile phones
• If the next generation of computers are non-programmable, the next generation of users will be non-programmers

Current solutions

• OpenMoko
• Rockbox, iPodLinux
• MythTV
• Free software laptop projects

The general solution

• Only buy devices that can be freed
• Watches, maybe not, phones yes
• It all comes back to society valueing software freedom
• (end DRM topic)

FSFE's work

• Antitrust
• OOXML
• GPLv3
• Legal network (FTF), GPL enforcement
• Event attendance
• UN lobbying (WIPO, WSIS)
• EU lobbying (IPRED2, swpats, EUCD, standards...)
• Community building (next slide)

Community building

fsfe.org

• fsfe-bnl@fsfeurope.org -- discussion@fsfeurope.org
• Soon wiki etc.

Awareness is key

• Applications could have an "About free software" in their help menus - how many Firefox users don't know about free software?
• We need an activist community, and that will only come from having an aware user community
• "Free software" and "GNU/Linux"

Support FSFE

• Mostly membership funded
• This keeps us independent
• Some work isn't visible but needs your support
• FSFE works on political issues because that's our weak point - not our software

Close

Donate and join FSFE: fsfe.org

Coordinate: join fsfe-bnl@fsfeurope.org and discussion@fsfeurope.org