European rejection of software patents is a victory for open source

In theory, a healthy software-patent system might reward innovators
and promote the worthy objective of the advancement of knowledge and
the useful arts.  In practice, American-style software-patent systems
have serious flaws, including weak patentability filters and failure
to systematically check submissions against important bodies of prior
art such as Internet open-source repositories.  Their effect is to
actually suppress innovation.  Real-world evidence of this suppression
is in "An Empirical Look at Software Patents"
.

The institution of American-style software patents in Europe would
undoubtedly lead to the same abuses we have seen in the U.S., where
patents are routinely deployed to prevent healthy competition in the
software industry -- and aimed, especially, at the suppression of open
source.  Europe's "reform" seemed to us to be headed towards exactly
the same unhappy result, inflicting great harm on software consumers,
open-source programmers, and all independent developers.

We are pleased to see that the European citizenry understand that they
have an interest in protecting their right to innovate.  We are pleased
that they have exercised their democratic prerogative to make their
voices heard.  We are pleased that numerous companies, small and large,
European and American-based, have realized that software monopolies tilt
against their interest.  And we are pleased that Europe's elected
legislators duly voted both the will of the people and good common
sense.  And while the battle is not yet won, we are hopeful that the
decisiveness of this vote proves to be a catalyst not only for
programming freedom and continued software innovation in Europe, but for
the reform of obsolete and broken patent systems worldwide.
-- 
		Eric S. Raymond
				for the Board of OSI