EC Won't Restart Debate On Software Patent Directive

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

02 March 2005

The European Commission sparked fresh outrage last week by denying the European Parliament's request for debate on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions legislation (also known as the Software Patent Directive) to be restarted.

The legislation has faced strong opposition from small IT businesses and open source groups, in addition to a growing number of EU member states, led by Poland.

The Legal Affairs Committee of European Parliament, responding to the groundswell of criticism being faced by the Directive, called on the EC to restart discussions on the matter on February 2.

When this was ignored by the Commission, the decision was taken forward by the Parliamentary Conference of Presidents. Following this, in a plenary session held last Thursday, the entire European Parliament approved a motion urging the EC to take action.

However, it appears that the regulatory body is determined to ignore the political will of the EP, and reports in the European media have suggested that a vote on the matter will take place at the March 7 meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council.

In a letter sent by EC President, Jose Manuel Barroso to the European Parliament, the Commission's expectations that the Council would pass the legislation "as soon as possible" were made clear. Barroso reportedly pledged that when the proposed directive passes to the EP for a second reading, all of the objections recently expressed with regard to its current form will be taken into account.

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