European software patenting directive rejected
Some good news amid the horror of yesterday's events:The European Parliament voted 648 to 14 to reject the Computer Implemented Inventions Directive — the very bill that has recently been criticised and opposed by the Free Software movement, the very bill that could have led to software being patented in the EU.
The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) congratulates the European Parliament on its clear "no" to what they see as bad legislative proposals and procedures. The bill would have stalled economic development and freedom of invention, they argue. Big technology firms, such as Philips, Nokia, Microsoft, Siemens, and telecoms firm Ericsson, continued to voice their support for the original bill, claiming that it would have brought harmonisation and consistency to the issue of patenting in Europe.
Software is already protected by copyright, and patents will continue to be handled by national patent offices, exactly as it has been before, according to the EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. This means that different interpretations as to what is patentable can apply, without any judiciary control by the European Court of Justice.
read more (BBC News)
FFII statement
FSF Europe statement
posted by Jonas Andersson @ 7:00 pm
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