Date published: 2005/03/08
The Financial Times says (subscription service):
Controversial European Union proposals setting out a new patent regime for the software industry cleared an important hurdle yesterday, when EU industry ministers broke a 10-month stalemate and voted in favour of the draft law.
Their decision sets the scene for a fierce battle with the European parliament, which is deeply sceptical of the law but which must back the proposal before it can take effect.
The legislation has already caused a deep rift within the high-tech industry: while large companies such as Nokia, Philips and Siemens are strongly in favour, smaller companies and individual software developers are opposed. In its present form, the law - often described as the software patents directive - would allow companies to register a patent for software that makes a "technical contribution". But critics argue that the text is too generous, and would also allow patents on "pure" software such as Microsoft's Windows operating system. They say such patents would prevent developers from building on widely used lines of code, which would stifle innovation and concentrate patents in the hands of big corporations.
Supporters of the law dismiss such fears. They warn that companies will stop investing in research and development if they cannot win protection for their inventions.
Companies will not stop investing in research and development if this dreadful law does not pass. Much more likely they will invest more in research and less in lawyers. And big companies are not the engine of growth and innovation in the world, small companies are. This law will just allow big companies to squash small companies by out-spending them on lawyers, or of a threat to do so. A bad day for Europe.
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