6th okt, 2008

Open source patent office

No its not an error in the headline. Cnet reports that the Netherlands patent office has begun transforming a large part of their IT systems from proprietary systems into open source. Somehow the patent office gets a patent spin on this story claiming that “…visitors to the new website can see clearly how much it will cost to apply for a patent. This will ensure that the costs and benefits of using patents become even more transparent, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises” Thats a pretty strange connection.

The real story is that the European patent authorites are not as one eyed as many would like to paint them.

Responses

Yes, as the links explain, the Dutch patent office has taken the lead in implementing a government policy of using Free and Open Source Software.

I think this is a PR masterpiece, that will earn that office credit with people who are critical of the institutions and people involved with Patent and Copyright regulations.

I hope that the DKPTO will follow suit.

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