Vielen Dank an Patentanwalt Axel H Horn (BLOG@IP::JUR) für seinen Hinweis auf den netten Artikel “The Great Free Beer Debate” von Patent Attorney David Musker.

Wer sich mit der derzeitigen Lage bezüglich Softwarepatenten auseinanderzusetzen hat, der wird dem Text sicherlich einiges abgewinnen können.

Zitate:

“With the introduction of the European Patent Convention in the 1970s, the powerful Bavarian brewing lobby (their position entrenched by the centuries-old ‘Reinheitsgebot’, the Bavarian Purity Law of beer) had succeeded in excluding protection for beer from the European Patent Convention, but only beer ‘as such’.”

“As a practical matter, it was clear from the outset to patent attorneys that beer patents could be obtained, provided only that an attorney of the highest skill and experience was employed.”

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