[d@DCC] Current worldwide status of Software Patent policy.

[Russell McOrmond]

Dear list members,

  I am a self-employed consultant doing a report on the issue of software
patents.  While I am personally on the side of believing that software
should be ineligible for patents, a complete report needs to include
references worldwide to the current state of the question, and present
this factual information in an unbiased manner.

  Any links to current references would be appreciated.  I am looking for
what is said within the patent acts of various countries, current
practices of patent offices, and precedent on key software patent cases
that made it to court.

  While the report is focused on software patents, I am also interested in
the general question of patentability in each country and whether it is
clear to the relevant stakeholders in each country whether software or
other hotly debated forms of patents are eligible.

---
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/>
 Any 'hardware assist' for communications, whether it be eye-glasses, 
 VCR's, or personal computers, must be under the control of the citizen 
 and not a third party.   -- http://www.flora.ca/russell/

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