Software Patents: Economic Impacts and Policy Implications

There has been continued debate in Europe over whether to change the patentability of software - or so-called computer-implemented inventions - and to follow the US model of allowing software patents.

The European debate has shown a severe lack of empirical analysis on the possible impact of software patenting that goes beyond interest-driven rhetoric. This book seeks to address this shortcoming by taking a two-fold approach. Firstly, a survey of German software companies provides a represen...