FFII Slams EU Community Patent Consultation

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

15 March 2006

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) last week condemned the EU's 'Consultation on the future of the Community Patent in Europe', arguing that it has "serious flaws".

"The first problem with the consultation questionnaire is that it is unavailable in most of the languages of the EU," explained FFII president Pieter Hintjens, continuing:

"And when you try to answer the questionnaire, you realise that most of the vital background information is completely incomprehensible to the average businessperson."

The FFII has sent an open letter to EC President Jose Manuel Barroso and the responsible Commissioners (Charlie McCreevy and Margot Wallström), to express its concerns with the procedure, and to make four requests to improve it.

The FFII further revealed that it has received complaints about the exclusionary nature of the consultation from many SMEs across Europe.

The Foundation warned that both of the Commission's alternative proposals, the Community Patent and the EPLA in combination with the London Agreement, could lead to the EU-wide introduction of software patents. Additionally, the current Community Patent proposal would result in transferring judicial authority over patent law from the EU and its member states to the European Patent Office.

Pieter Hintjens concluded:

"The Commission is proposing mechanisms for cheaper, easier patents, promoting the misconception that 'more patent equates to more innovation'. Encouraging the patent inflation and accepting the extension of the patent system in fields where patents are counter-productive would be a disaster for the EU."

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