[Australia-public-discuss] Review of patentable subject matter available

[Ben Sturmfels]

Hi Folks,
I see the "Review of Patentable Subject Matter" has now been made
available. To refresh your memories, this was the one that we missed out
on making a submission to.

Review of Patentable Subject Matter:
http://www.acip.gov.au/reviews_completed.html#psm

Advisory Council's Media Release:
http://www.acip.gov.au/library/ACIP%20press%20release%20February%
202011.pdf

Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr's Media Release:
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pdfs/news/MR-150%20PROTECTING%20AUSTRALIAN
%20INVENTORS.pdf

I've had a very quick skim through and there don't seem to be changes
that will significantly improve the situation for the software industry.
I'll need to have a closer read though.

Happily, even though our web-based petition was outside of the review
submissions, we got a mention on page 37 (43rd page of PDF):

        A recent petition to the Minister signed by members of the
        computer software industry argued that patents are not necessary
        to encourage innovation in their industry, that the term of a
        patent (20 years) is too long, and that the cost involved (in
        avoiding infringing patents, and defending against patent
        lawsuits) is not viable, particularly for small to medium-sized
        businesses.

At some point recently you've probably also signed our paper petition to
the House of Representatives. So far we've sent over 1000 signatures to
the Petitions Committee. This is a fantastic achievement of many all
around Australia, so thanks for your support!

I'll be aiming to continue dialogue with our politicians over the coming
months.

Regards,
Ben

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