Campaign for Creativity

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The Campaign for Creativity (C4C) was an organisation that lobbied in favour of software patents. It was operated by Campbell Gentry, a London-based public relations firm, which had previously lobbied in favour of biological patents in the EU.

A software patent is a patent on a piece of software, such as a computer program, libraries, user interface, or algorithm.

A biological patent is a patent on an invention in the field of biology that by law allows the patent holder to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the protected invention for a limited period of time. The scope and reach of biological patents vary among jurisdictions, and may include biological technology and products, genetically modified organisms and genetic material. The applicability of patents to substances and processes wholly or partially natural in origin is a subject of debate.

C4C described itself as being "supported by individuals across Europe". However, its finances were not transparent, and its website acknowledged the backing of software multinationals such as Microsoft and SAP. Critics, such as the FFII, suggested that C4C was merely a mouthpiece for the views of those multinationals, masquerading as a grass-roots organisation, without popular support.

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) is a non-profit organisation based in Munich, Germany, dedicated to establishing a free market in information technology, by the removal of barriers to competition. The FFII played a key organisational role and was very active in the campaign which resulted in the rejection of the EU software patent directive in July 2005.

The Campaign has consistently denied this and points to the six hundred small and medium-sized companies that participated in its work around the Directive.

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