Free Knowledge Culture Calendar/September 24

Today is World Day Against Software Patents. Software patents block features in software. Do something, buddy!

This international awareness day was declared in 2008, commemorating the rejection of key elements of a proposed directive on the patentability of “computer-implemented inventions” by the European Parliament in 2003. While this was celebrated as a victory of activism against software patents, others point out that Europe is still not free of patents on software algorithms. Also, isolated solutions are of limited value in a globalized world. Although serious efforts against overly broad and trivial patents are emerging, this can also be seen as a measure to strengthen the justifiability of the patent system in general. Some see software patents only as a special case of a broader problem and dream of a world without all patents.