I attended the stake holders meeting in Mumbai at the Patent's office. The room was full of people, more than 80 people attended the meet. Of which about 30 were interested in the software issue. the rest of them are interested mostly in bioinformatics, chemical processes etc.
What gave me solace is that this is not an attempt to modify the law. So, status quo exists. software patents per se are not possible in India. However. what the office is doing is it prepared a draft of a Manual helping the inventors in how to apply for a patent. In that manual, there is an attempt to suggest how to exploit the 'per se' and apply for software patents in combination with hardware.
Due to several questions on this issue raised by several of us, and also due to written feedback submitted by quite a few others in Delhi meet, they are organizing a stake holders meeting in Bangalore later (in the coming three to four months period) where they are going to settle all the doubts and listen all the points of view.
The date of bangalore meeting is not yet announced. Meanwhile, chennai and kolkatta meetings are still going to be held before the bangalore meeting. It is a good idea to send our supporters to both these places, so that the officers must see that there is sufficient opposition to this manipulation.
I do hope that the folks at alternate law forum from Bangalore will not miss this meeting. In any case, we should all file written objections to the sections. I will send in another note the section numbers, and the objectionable sentences.
Nagarjuna