Published at LXer:
The article is in German, but here's a computer translation: A majority of the delegates felt the regulation suggested by the European Commission only as genuflection before the large software producers, who would have achieved to improve their market position. A legal jungle would have developed. Experts like Richard Stallman warned at that time: "By such software patents the writing of a program becomes so dangerous, as if you would go over a mine field." Over many months the delegates, under it responsible the Austrian Green to EH Lichtenberger, belonged expert and also patent advocate for instance from IBM and Siemens. Finally they came in the end that by the introduction of the patents smaller software developers would be clearly disadvantaged. Because many of them could their developments the licenses not afford and would have ever more limit.
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