European software patent granted for e-voting; but Directive in turmoil

A patent has been granted for secure electronic voter registration – or e-voting – that applies to 14 European countries. Meanwhile, an EU vote on a software patent directive has been postponed because of controversy over what should and should not be eligible for the monopoly right. E-voting has its critics. On 20th June, Britain's Electoral Reform Society issued a statement that dismissed the concept of voting by internet, telephone, digital TV or text messaging as a means of raising turnout. The Government had piloted e-voting in recent local elections – but according to the Society, the pilots flopped. "The average turnout in councils which piloted e-voting methods actually fell by 1.5%," said Chief Executive Ken Ritchie. But if e-voting has its sceptics, software patents are much more controversial. On Monday, the European Parliament was due to vote on a software patents directive that promises to harmonise the rules for "computer-implemented inventions" throughout Europe. At the last minute, the vote was delayed until 1st September amid fears that there has been insufficient time for MEPs to consider the implications of the draft law. Critics condemn the proposed law, saying it would stifle innovation. The US has a famously liberal approach to the grant of patents for software and business methods. Europe is much more conservative, and many fear the consequences of taking the US direction – which they say is written into the draft legislation. Others say that the draft does not go far enough – that businesses are not afforded the right to patents which are needed to protect their R&D investments. Meanwhile, VoteNow's European Patent has slipped through the hysteria, being granted for a "Method, Article and Apparatus for Registering Registrants, Such as Voter Registrants." It applies to 14 European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Sweden. The patent covers the secure registration and authentication of voters using the digital credentials common to public key cryptography infrastructures in conjunction with live ink signatures, and/or other acceptable authentication and eligibility data, to establish the identity and eligibility of a voter. This process promotes the use of existing public key infrastructure to register voters for both poll site and remote electronic voting. The registration technology also makes allowances for election officials to issue digital credentials to voters where the use of a public key infrastructure may not be present or widespread in use. By integrating public key cryptography technology into an electronic database of securely registered voters, the process allows for the authentication of digitally signed ballots submitted electronically by voters in the poll site or remotely. The complete patent description and claims are available here