I must admit that I was nervously awaiting the result of the software patents voting in the EU parliament and I heave a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction at this result.

I just read the story here.

It is with great relief that I note that for now this new law has been rejected. That vested interests have lost and common wisdom has prevailed. For software patents would have signalled the beginning of the end for FOSS and innovation in the software line. It was well known that the large corporations supported this bill because they had the most to gain from it while small companies, individuals and independent programmers would have suffered badly as a result of restrictions on software ideas. The very concept of patenting software is restrictive and such an implementation would have effectively put an end to the smaller players in the software industry. It is good to know that people at the EU had enough common sense to put an end to it.

But all is not over. I still believe that danger still hangs over our head and it requires constant vigilance on the part of every concerned citizen. Let us wait and watch developments in this issue in the coming months. But for now, all I can say is: Phew!!