Quote Originally Posted by New Zealand Computer Society
Despite what appears to be a big-budget lobbying effort by the pro-patent fraternity, Hon Simon Power announced today that he wouldn't be modifying the proposed Patents Bill hence software will be unpatentable once the Bill passes into law.
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We believe it's near impossible for software to be developed without breaching some of the hundreds of thousands of software patents awarded around the world, hence many software companies in New Zealand, creating outstanding and innovative software, live a constant risk that their entire business will be wound up overnight due to litigious action by a patent holder.
This has led to many a "patent troll" company, primarily in the US. These are non-software companies who exist only to buy up old patents with the sole intention of suing innovative software companies for apparent breach of these patents. The effects of this have been chilling.
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The case against software patents has been laid out well by companies such as Orion Healthcare and Jade Corporation, probably the two largest software exporters in New Zealand by far.

Orion's Ian McCrae recently stated:
Obvious things are getting patented. [n]You might see a logical enhancement to your software, but you can’t do it because someone else has a patent. It gets in the way of innovation.[/b]
If an inventor has a really original and outstanding idea, then a patent might be merited. But, in general, software patents are counter-productive and are often used obstructively.
We are a software company. Our best protection is to innovate and innovate fast.

Jade sent me this note in support of NZCS's position on software patents:
Jade Software Corporation does not support patents related to software.
Reflecting this position we withdrew from applying for patents a number of years ago.
We believe the patent process is onerous, not suited to the software industry, and challenges our investment in innovation.

As I understand it, Orion and Jade together represent around 50% of New Zealand's software exports, so the fact that they have come out so strongly against is significant.
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About time. Now if only something like this would happen in America. Patents are most certainly counter-productive, and I'm glad such large companies realize this.