Posted on 03/09/2005 10:03:27 AM PST by ShadowAce
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Commission will not propose a new law on the patenting of computer-related inventions if the European Parliament rejects the current controversial proposal, a top official said on Tuesday.
"If the parliament decides to reject it, then the Commission will respect your wishes. I will not propose a new directive," EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy told lawmakers.
"You can of course reject or substantially amend the proposal," he said.
European Union ministers endorsed the disputed proposal on Monday, which critics say could stifle software development.
That decision is seen as a boost for advocates of patenting some computer software, notably big firms such as Microsoft and Nokia, but it is a blow for smaller software firms that fear they could be pushed out of the market.
The draft bill needs the backing of the European Parliament to become law and could undergo substantive changes as many lawmakers are seeking to amend the bill to favor small firms.
"The ball is in your court. I'm sure that you will exercise your rights and your judgment wisely," McCreevy told members of the European Parliament.
Critics of the legislation say it would harm small software developers who lack big companies' legal muscle. Some also fear it would restrict the amount of so-called open source software available for free.
Advocates of the bill argue current laws do not allow firms to protect expensive inventions that take years to develop.
EU software patent news
The process up until now was a perfect example of corporations running the government, and the poor structure of the EU government that lets corruption win even after it's exposed. The commission has tried to sneak this in multiple times using various means despite the objections of member countries. They even ignored the requests for a restart, preferring to push through their corporate-written law.
They apparently finally succeeded because the Danish representative, who was personally known to favor software patents in opposition to the will of the Danish people, "accidentally" dropped the ball in stopping the last sneak attempt.
The people and small software houses lost one. Big business, lawyers, and politicians owned by business won. This proposal was so distasteful that the EC had to had to use every trick in the book to get it passed over the objections of member states.
This just goes to show the Europeans what they got into when they entered the EU -- corrupt government from above with no thought to the wishes of individual nations.
Small and free companies find it hard to compete in a market where a twitch by a giant can send them into legal hell over even questionable patents, draining their small coffers for defense. They also want to stop BS patent system abuse like Eolas. Basically, the EU wants to avoid the mess we're currently in.
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