Samuel Tardieu @ rfc1149.net

Software Patent Decision Withdrawn from Agricultural Council Agenda

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As noted on FFII site, software patents in Europe, which was supposed to be included in the agenda of agricultural council, as been withdrawn at Poland’s request.

According to the transcript of the session, Wlodzimierz Marcinski, Poland’s undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Science and Information, said:

Poland with determination opt for unambiguous expression in the law of European Union issues connected with the patentability of the computer implemented inventions which the same time shall secure that computer programs are excluded from patentability.

This position results from the fact, that the lack of order of such matters which manifests both with difference in practice in particular European Union countries as well as in acting of European Patent Office which has issued many thousands of patents for computer programs are clearly noticeable.

In opinion of Poland this process should not be continued in such scale.

Poland having in mind the necessity of further research on directive project to strength the legal reliability (…) the enterprises in area of research, development do not withdraw its support for common position leading for second hearing.

Poland however bring for withdrawal of the item concerning the project of directive of European Parliament and the Council on Computer Implemented Inventions from A list of the agenda of this Council meeting.

Polish Government needs still more time for preparing and deliver to the Council appropriate statement in the matter which is an object of the directive.

In our opinion such statement will be balanced, constructive in direction to work out European compromise.

We think that some crucial items in the text of the project resulting from the May 18th meeting of the Council are not in favour to function of small and middle enterprises.

We back up the unambiguous legal instruments which shall guarantee that the computer implemented inventions shall be patentable but the computer programs or its parts shall be certainly unpatentable.

Of course, a commissioner tried to oppose the removal of software patents from the agenda:

Yes, Mr President, may I say that the Commission regrets the withdrawal of this item from the agenda, as the Commission attaches great importance to its own proposal, as well as the agreement on the common position that was reached during the Competitiveness Council.

But chairman Veerman accepted the withdrawal anyway. Yipee.

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