Hartmut Pilch

Hartmut Pilch (born 7 July 1963 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) is a German software developer, translator, and digital rights activist who founded the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure or FFII.

Activism

As president of the FFII, an organization that promotes software patent reform and digital freedom of speech, he oversaw an intense lobbying period aimed at EU agencies between 2002 and 2005.

In 2000, he led a campaign aimed to prevent the removal of the exclusion of computer programs as such from patenting in Art. 52(2) of the European Patent Convention. In 2003, he led again a campaign against the patentability of software in Europe. Along with the support of an extensive grassroots network, he lobbied and convinced the members of the European Parliament to amend a directive proposal on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions (initially written by the European Commission). He is also strongly opposed to the current practice of the European Patent Organisation regarding software patents.