Numerous software companies have pronounced themselves against the patentability of software. Nevertheless the press keeps reporting that "the software industry demands patent protection". FFII talks to with Siemens representatives showed that even Siemens, the only German company that has pronounced itself in favor of software patents, this view does not hold. Most techniciancs and middle managment people at Siemens are concerned about possible from software patents to their company, but, but so far it is the patent department which has been representing Siemens to the outside. And an average Siemens board member does not dare to take an independent stance on such a complex matter as patent law.
The only industry association that ever made a public statement in favor of patent expansion, the ZVEI, just used a draft that came from its patent expert, who is at the same time the head of the patent department of Siemens, Arno Körber. This is what we found out by telephonic inquiries at the time.
The situation in the German Federal Government is the same. Economists in the Ministery of Economics (BMWi) view the tendency to make programming concepts patentable very critically. But it is the Ministery of Justice (BMJ) which has the say in patent questions.
Siemens, ZVEI and the Federal Government are all led by patent experts, whose career depends much less on the company in which they are working than on their relations to the patent world. The Proprietary Informational Complex forms a worldwide interwoven closed system with members such as:
The current head of the European Patent Office, Dr. Ingo Kober, was state secretary in the BMJ before he acceeded to is EPO post.
The BMJ representative who in July 1999 together with European colleagues entrusted the European Patent Office to propose a law change so as to allow software patents, Peter Mühlens, soon thereafter changed over to a new post at the EPO.
The Proprietary Informational Complex needs software patents to participate in the growth of the "software industry". Or, viewed from the perspective of the Complex: the "software industry" has become so important, that it can no longer be denied the blessings of patent protection. |