SOFTWARE PATENTS LATEST

Constituents should keep eye on this page for future developments and for information on Jean's stance on the issue.

Breaking news!!! Today 6th July, MEPs voted on the controversial software patents Directive in Strasbourg.

Opposite: Jean and other Green MEPs in Strasbourg calling on the Parliament to "Save our Software".

 

Reacting to the European Parliament's overwhelming rejection today of a Directive on computer-implemented inventions by 648 votes to 14, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament welcomed the move as the second best option available to MEPs. 

Jean Lambert stated. "This outcome is far preferable to a bad Directive but the battle is still on for what form the next proposal takes. However, there are lessons to be learned both from the positive reaction by Parliament to constituent concerns and from the lobbying tactics of the big software companies. We must remain attentive".

Green strategy

The Greens feel that the Parliament must now take the initiative for a community-wide patent. Questions of patentability can only be solved in a wider framework.

They feel that the European Patent Office must now accept that there are no majorities in favour of software patents. The office must halt its current practice of granting patents for software, a practice for which there is no legal basis.

The vote has shown how Parliament can reflect the voice of Europe's constituents. On the other hand, Commission and Council refused to recognise that no Directive is better than a bad Directive and so must take the blame for today's failure.

Jean has been flooded with letters from constituents who are very worried about software patents and calling for outright rejection of the Directive. They have particularly highlighted:

  • the threat to small business and the open source community
  • that innovation will be stifled
  • the request of the Legal Affairs Committee and indeed the Parliament majority being ignored
  • many national governments grave concerns were ignored
  • unnatural corporate influence
  • wider damage done to faith in the European Institutions as democratic decision makers

Selected Green Quotes

"This outcome is far preferable to a bad directive but the battle is still on for what form the next proposal takes. However, there are lessons to be learned both from the positive reaction by Parliament to constituent concerns and from the lobbying tactics of the big software companies. We must remain attentive."

Jean Lambert

"Software is developed, not invented. It is a process that builds on previous advances and developments."

Eva Lichtenberger, Lead Green MEP on software

"This is a symbolic fight. It is a fight to defend liberty and innovation in Europe and to protect small entrepreneurs from the predatory tactics of large software companies."

Monica Frassoni, co-president of the Greens/EFA group

"I find it difficult to understand how certain governments can reconcile their programmes to reduce 'red tape' on industry, with their support of software patents in this directive. Tony Blair is particularly guilty of this inconsistency."

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-president of the Greens/EFA group

What have the Green Group been doing in the run up to the vote?

Before the vote all the relevant political powers in the EP declared that they were against the patentability of software “as such“. The crucial issue however was whether this would be guaranteed in the fine print of the document. Voting behaviour at Committee stage indicated that the conservatives and liberals were open to the patenting of software in a very wide sense an ambiguity that large software companies were forcefully lobbying for.

The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament therefore worked hard to build an alliance of colleagues from other political groups to stop the introduction of software patents in the computer-implemented inventions (CII) Directive.

As a safety guard the Greens along with other sympathetic MEPs put together a package of 21 amendments proposing a clear distinction between software – which is protected by copyright, and technical inventions – that should be patentable. The amendments would have made the Parliament's text much clearer than the Council's position. The Greens were keen to protect innovation and SMEs and prevent patents on software. This was in response to the overwhelming feedback received from constituents, deeply worried about the software Directive.

Jean Lambert was particularly worried about the harm that could have been done to small and medium-size enterprises which are the backbone of Europe's economy.

After the vote Jean commented "Had the Directive gone through, small and medium enterprises would have been at risk of being crippled by enormous costs, either by avoiding any patent infringement or by having to defend their own inventions in court. Thankfully, despite sustained lobbying from the bigger companies, MEPs voted today for the development of innovation for all."

History

Parliament's rejection comes almost four months after the Commission and Council's announcement that the Directive would not be dropped - despite Parliament having previously voiced its opposition.

Read Commissioner McCreevy's speech HERE

Click Here to read Jean's (and the Green Group's) reaction on Software Patents

This is the press release sent out by the Green Group in the European Parliament after Commissioner McCreevy's announcement that the Council wanted to press on with the Directive.

THE GREENS IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
PRESS RELEASE – Strasbourg, 7 March 2005  

 Council adopts software patents directive:
A slap in the face for the Parliament

Commenting on the adoption of the controversial software patents directive today by EU research and industry ministers, Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, said:

 

"The Competitiveness Council's decision today to adopt the software patents directive is a slap in the face for Europe's growing software industry and for the European Parliament. The Council has apparently fallen on its knees before the likes of Microsoft, and betrayed the interests of Europe's software developers."

 

"Ministers have ignored the will of the Parliament, where the Conference of Presidents unanimously spoke out against the adoption of the directive. This has created a serious institutional conflict between the Parliament, Commission and Council. For purely formal reasons, EU ministers confirmed a common position dating from May 2004, even though the circumstances in the meantime have dramatically changed. Council has also ignored growing opposition to this directive in many national parliaments, which are justifiable worried about the future of their national software industries."

 

"The current text of the software patents directive must not become law. From this moment on, the Greens will work to assemble as large a lobby as possible to ensure that the current proposal for the directive doesn't get through Parliament's second reading in its present form."