Our masters in Brussels have managed to knuckle under to big bad American plutocrats by approving the concept of European Software Patents. One of the things that I consider to be most broken in the US is its intellectual property environment (patents and copyright law) and it seems that the EU can't wait to slavishly follow the US example, despite the fact that almost everyone they asked thinks that software patents are a bad thing.
To start from the most basic. The EFF has an excllent page explaining why software patents are flawed. A suitable google search links to many many other places that explain the problems and flaws in the reasoning. The basic argument is that Software Patents provide an economic incentive for companies and individuals to innovate. Given that software has not been protected (anywhere) by patent law for the majority of its half century or so of existence this argument seems to fly counter to the observed world. Of course it is possible that with patents an even larger proportion of the global economy would be devoted to software but it seems hard to claim that lack of patent protection has stopped innovation. Moreover numerous cases (such as the Cadence/Avant! one and the numerous Microsoft ones) have shown that standard contract and copyright law works well enough in ensuring that theft of intellectual property is actionable. On the other hand there is absolutely no indication that software patents would reduce the litgation risk for a small company - indeed the common habit of large companies of filing "blocking patents" would seem to imply that software patents increase the likelihood that entrpreneurial companies will face additional legal challenges from incumbents and hence an increase in the expense of bringing a product to market. As long running patent disputes such as the Rambus or Qualcomm ones show, patent infringement is an area of the law where large pockets help and where judgements frequently seem to be contradictory. By increasing litigation risk and requiring greater legal expenditure software patents does not seem to be a good way to increase innovation although it does seem to be a good way to assure an increase in the employment in the professions that are parasitic to innovation such as the patent bureaucracy and the legal profession.
In addition to the evidence that the basic principle is flawed, the campaign to introduce software patents in Europe has demonstrated flaws in the European legislative process. As the EU Referendum blog, Cnet, the Register and the Inquirer have all reported, numerous nations and MEPs have rejected this proposal numerous times yet it keeps on coming back from the dead and passing through another legal hurdle. This legislation is in fact one of the few pieces that unites libertarian Eurosceptics, such as myself, with the rampant leftwing Europhiles such as those whom I blogged about a couple of days ago. This really is a piece of legislation for the "patrons" and Eurocrats, not for the man in the street and certainly not for the Entrepreneur who would like to make his fortune and thus provide tax revenue to the government and employment to his fellow Europeans. Even if you feel that software patents are a good idea the way they have been legislated in Europe is worrying. The safeguards and the "consultative process" that are touted in the proposed EU constitution have failed to prevent this law from coming into effect or even, as far as I can tell, from being modified to fix its more egregious failings. thus demonstrating that democracy does not exist in Europe.
Of course this is not the only bit of industrial regulation that Brussels inflicts on us - from the CAP and CFP to REACH and the wonderful environmental laws such as the Landfill directive Brussels persists in adding red tape and legislation to industries that were working just fine before. As (lack of) progress report on the Lisbon agenda showed and as the continuing high unemployment rates in red-tape rich France and Germany demonstrate the EU is not friendly towards entrepreneurs. If the EU were serious about trying to compete with America it would not be passing laws about software patents but rather would be seeking to reduce the red tape on the "knowledge economy". As Ireland has demonstrated it is not diffulcut to get a vibrant IT/software component to an economy, you just cut taxes and regulations and entrepreneurs and foreign companies show up in droves, however that is far too laissez-faire for the EU.
Finally one excellent resource for the EU Software Patent subject is the FFII site, it should be required reading for all.
He contends that software patents are needed to ensure that the EU can keep to the goals set by the "Lisbon Agenda"--that the EU will become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-driven economy by 2010.
"While the repercussions of today's action are not yet clear, the role of strong (intellectual property) as an engine of European growth as part of the Lisbon Agenda is beyond question," Lueders said. "Last May's political agreement in the (European) Council roundly delivers on the agenda's goals, he added.
I am willing to bow to the expertise of real economists but I don't think there are many examples of growth in an existing industry being increased by adding lawyers and bureaucrats.