EFF Seeks to “Defend Innovation”, Takes on the Patent System

The Electronic Frontier Foundation went live on Tuesday with a campaign to reform the software patent system in the United States, long a thorn in the side of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and companies alike. The growing conventional wisdom is that software patents are behind broken.

From the EFF’s press release announcing the “Defend Innovation” campaign:

“The software patent system is broken. Patents are supposed to help promote new inventions and ideas, but software patents are chronically misused to limit competition, quash new tools and products, and shake down companies big and small,” said EFF Staff Attorney Julie Samuels. “It’s time for Internet users, inventors, activists, and academics to team up and fix the problem.”

The seven point petition now online includes proposals that software patents should be valid for only five years and limitations on damage awards, amongst others.