Euro Parl Rejects Software Idea Patents

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Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39207478,00.htm 
Software patent directive rejected
Ingrid Marson
ZDNet UK
July 06, 2005, 12:25 BST

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to reject the directive on the
patentability of computer implemented inventions.

A spokesman for the European Parliament said that 648 MEPs out of a total of 
729
voted to reject the directive, which critics feared would widen the extent to
which software could be patented.

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) described this
decision as a "great victory for those who have campaigned to ensure that
European innovation and competitiveness is protected from monopolisation of
software functionalities and business methods."

While many SMEs, free software advocates and software developers have spoken 
out
against the directive from the start, various large companies have lobbied for
the directive, often via campaign groups such as the Business Software 
Alliance,
EICTA, CompTIA and the Campaign for Creativity.

These groups and the companies behind them have put significant funds and 
effort
into arguing their cause. This included alleged threats to pull jobs out of
Europe and trying to tempt European politicians to its cause with free
ice-creams.

"This result clearly shows that thorough analysis, genuinely concerned 
citizens
and factual information have more impact than free ice-cream, boatloads of 
hired
lobbyists and outsourcing threats," said Jonas Maebe, a spokesman for the 
FFII.

"I hope this turn of events can give some people faith again in the European
decision-making process," Maebe added.

The future of the directive is currently unclear. It is possible that a 
revised
version could be debated in the future, but back in March Charlie McCreevy,
commissioner for the Internal Market, said the Commission would not resubmit a
new directive if the Parliament chose to reject the current version.

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