Tim Kuijsten
CEO of Netsend

In writing software there is no big step to take. Anyone with an idea and access to an ordinary PC can start writing it on his own. If the programmer thinks his code may not be modified or used by another he can decide to put a license on it that simply restricts this behaviour.

The combination of a license and the copyright on the code has worked for years and has lead to a very simple and cost-effective way of protecting all intellectual property without the hassle of an extra patent system.

With a patent system on the other hand, the programmer or organisation must register a patent for his (technological) idea and make sure it is not in violation with other patents. Once the patent is granted he can sue any other company with roughly the same idea even if the patent holder is not working on an implementation. This is in no contrast to the costs of the patent holder and really slows down innovation instead of stimulating it.

Big companies with a lot of money can start brainstorming and buy themselves a nice patent portfolio. We see this behavior in all other countries where systems like the one proposed in Europe allready exist. A lot of money and time is spent to jurists and lawyers. It will be a lot harder and maybe even impossible for little starting companies and open source communities to develop software, while a lot of good new ideas absolutely comes from them.

How can Europe get a better economic position if new ideas are being slowed down and intellectual property is being overprotected on the internal market?