The True Economic Majority
It is often stated that an "economic majority" (/whatever that means/) of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises or SME's are in favour of software patents. The main argument of the big company associations, namely UNICE and EICTA, has consisted in false claims of representing "industry". Yet both CEA-PME (/representing 1.5 million member SME's/) and UEAPME (/representing 10 million SME's/) have spoken against the software patent directive. In order to scotch the myth once and for all, the FFII has opened a new website to emonstrating the falsehood.
All European SME's and others involved in the industry are invited to contribute.
The Eurolinux Petition has collected over 400,000 signatures including 3000 of software company CEO's.
Small and Medium Enterprises are the backbone of the digital economy.
Historically the heavy industries developed first. Economies of scale meant that these, and perhaps most physical industries, were at their most efficient when economic power was concentrated into the hands of few. In this atmosphere, a patent regime - which enforces the rights of one over many - looks a natural support. So why does it change with software?
Firstly, there are no physical materials required and therefore no economies of scale. Physical size is irrelevant. Secondly, the one and only world "resource" is the sheer creative power of the human spirit. Sofware is not mass production but mass innovation. Therefore, every single software patent is excluding world "resources" from the digital economy - making it more inefficient as a whole.
