Did you know … ?
The patent law exists to promote innovation? In most countries, it is recognised that not everything should be patentable because certain things should be universally accessible to all humankind. For example, you cannot patent a new way of kicking a football, or drinking a glass of water.
Similarly, the South African Patent Act of 1978 does not allow patents for computer programs and ways of doing business because, like most countries, it’s recognised that protections in these areas thwart, rather than encourage, innovative activity.
And yet:
- Hundreds of patents each month are being wrongfully granted in South Africa for computer program and business method “inventions”.
- Most of these are being granted to foreign multinationals.
- Unlike most other offices, the South African patent office does not examine patent applications for substantive validity, resulting in patents being granted here which have been refused elsewhere in the world.
- Such patents present an unacceptable and unnecessary risk to the growing number of small (and large) innovative software development firms who are driving Innovation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) innovation in South Africa.
What can YOU do?
There is no justification for such silent theft of our innovative potential which will have dire consequences for the future of ordinary South Africans.
Responsible citizens from diverse sectors and disparate backgrounds are coming together to push back against progressively restrictive patents laws that favour big business and commercial imperatives over innovation and empowerment. Local non-profit organisation, Freedom to Innovate South Africa (FTISA), aims to support the movement towards open innovation by providing a formal body through which the local and international patent systems can be monitored and critiqued.
Join us in becoming one of the unified voices that supports open innovation! We need you to:
GET CREATIVE …Help us create electronic posters that tell a story of a world where unnecessary software patents hamper innovation. We’re looking for slogans that begin with: Imagine if … Submit your slogan idea via FTISA homepage and we’ll design a poster around the most creative catchphrase.
SPREAD THE WORD … Upload the latest e-poster to your blog, website or social media profile pic for the month of January. And share the word with your own networks.
HAVE AN OPINION … Do you think some of the slogans uploaded are da bomb? Are they too cool for school? Comment on recent uploads … but play nice!
BE HEARD … So you have all the answers; now you just need someone to listen! Are you bursting with great ideas? Or are you a self-proclaimed realist who sees that cloud linings are not always silver? Either way, we need you!
FTISA would love you to join us at our annual AGM in January 2010 for a meeting with a difference. You’ll be encouraged to brainstorm, connect with other like-minded souls and share ideas about where FTISA will be heading into the future.
