Microsoft Denies Threatening Danish IT Jobs

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

17 February 2005

US software giant, Microsoft has denied attempting to influence the Danish government's position on the Software Patent Directive.

Earlier in the month, the Danish media reported that the authorities were planning to join Poland in opposing the approval of the draft Directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions (or Software Patent Directive) in its disputed form.

Following a meeting between Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates and Denmark's Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish financial newspaper, Børsen reported on Tuesday that the loss of 800 jobs at Microsoft-owned Navision, which is based in Vedbaek, had been threatened if the country did not fall into line and allow the directive in question to be passed.

However, speaking to the ZDNet news service following publication of the report, European Vice President of Microsoft Business Solutions, Klaus Holse Andersen denied that this threat had been made, although he acknowledged that the software patent issue had been discussed.

"There has been a general discussion on patents, and this has gone on in many offices. We are very much pro the patent law. How (the report) made the connection to the Vedbaek site, I'm not sure," he explained.

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