EFF offers patent reform

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation has launched the Defend Innovation website , which sets out a patent reform plan. “The patent system is in crisis and threatens the future of software development in the United States. We need to create a system that protects innovations, but does not hinder them, ”the EFF statement said.

    Seven EFF patent reform proposals:

    1 . Reduce software patents: they should be valid for no more than five years.

    2 . If the patent is invalid and the court does not reveal violations, the troll must pay the legal costs.

    3 . The patent applicant must provide an example of workable program code for each item on which he claims.

    4 . Violators should be excused if they independently carry out their development.

    5 . Patents and licenses should immediately be made publicly available. Patent owners are required to timely update open records.

    6 . The law should limit the maximum amount of damage, so the patent holder should not receive millions of dollars if the patent covers only a tiny fraction of the defendant’s product.

    7 . Congress should initiate a study and set up hearings to check if there is any benefit to the economy from software patents.

    Internet users are encouraged to sign patent reform on Defend Innovation, and experts and company representatives - to express their opinion on the patent system and on the reform that the EFF offers.

    Some experts have already spoken out in the sense that the EFF makes a serious mistake by proposing a reform of the patent system instead of completely abolishing software patents. For a radical solution to the problem advocate the Free Software Foundation, Red Hat and other organizations.

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