Do software patents encourage innovation ?

• Jacques VINCENT-CARREFOUR
  Leader of the working group concerned with the suitability of patenting of software at the Académie des technologies
  Former Director, CNET Lannion centre (Centre National d'Étude des Télécommunications)
  
• Maître Laurent COHEN-TANUGI
  Lawyer, Paris and New York. Member of the Académie des technologies working group
  Author of Nouvel ordre numérique
  
• Youenn DUPUIS
  Engineering student, Ecole des Mines, Paris
  Author of La brevetabilité des logiciels
  
• Olivier TARDIEU
  Engineering student, Ecole des Mines, Paris
  Authors of La brevetabilité des logiciels
  
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Summary

In Europe, software programmes are, as a rule, formally excluded from the right to have patents and are protected solely by copyright. However, in practice the European Patent Office (EPO) tends to align itself with the United States, where software patents and even patents on commercial techniques have been the norm for the past ten years or so. Are software patents the most suitable means of protecting an innovation with the original aim of granting patents being to increase the spread of knowledge and innovations ? The study launched by the European Commission, with a view to a Community directive, stirred up an already lively discussion on this question.

Summary translated from French by Rachel MARLIN.

Several summaries have been published very recently including the Prime Minister's request to the Académie des Technologies for a report, a working party's report organised by the Ministry for Industry, and a dissertation by engineering students from the Ecole des mines (September 3rd, 2001). This dissertation can be downloaded in pdf format. There are various documenrs on this subject whcih can be consulted on the following websites : http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/brevetlogiciel revetlogiciel http://www.cerna.ensmp.fr/Documents/FL-brevet-Larecherche.pdf erna.ensmp.fr/Documents/FL-brevet-Larecherche.pdf

• The entire article was written by Élisabeth BOURGUINAT and translated by Rachel MARLIN.

To obtain this article, you can :

• download it for free in French (PDF help) or contact ecopar@paris.ensmp.fr (Reference RT241001).
• download it for free in English (PDF help) or contact ecopar@paris.ensmp.fr (Reference RT241001-ENG).