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Brussels demonstration against software patents
On the cold Thursday morning of 17 February, 250-300 people gathered on the square between the European Commission and the Council of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium for a demonstration against patents on software ideas. The demonstration was aimed to support the request made that same day from the European Parliament Conference of Presidents, […]
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Recommended reading: software patents
The Swedish jurist Sandra Paulsson has published a 27 page report on the differences in approach between the US and the EU approach to software patents. She has written the briefing for the European Parliament as trainee at the Policy Department for Economic and Science (STOA). Paulsson finds the differences between the patent systems in […]
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EP committee wants new software patents proposal
On 2 February 2005 the legal affairs committee of the European Parliament (JURI) voted with an overwhelming majority (19-2) to get rid of the current software patent proposal and start all over again with a new proposal. Only 1 MEP voted against the initiative, and 1 MEP was absent. The former French prime minister Michel […]
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Poland blocks software patents once more
Poland did it again. For the second time they blocked the attempt to silently adopt EU Council’s agreement on software patents, this time in the Fisheries Council of 24 January 2005. The government of Poland had already requested the item to be deleted from the agenda of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 21 December […]
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MEPs demand new software patent proposal
61 Members of the European Parliament from 13 countries have signed a motion for a resolution calling for a new first reading of the software patent directive. According to the motion, the situation has changed substantially (with risks for public administration) and the European Parliament itself has changed, two formal reasons to be able to […]
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Poland blocks Software Patents directive
The Dutch EU presidency has failed to push through the controversial Council proposal on software patents. Thanks to the last-minute arrival of the Polish secretary of state of Science and Information Technology at the EU Council of Agriculture and Fishery on 20 December, the proposal could not be adopted without voting. Mr Wlodzimierz Marcinski formally […]
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EU Court confirms Commission's decision against Microsoft
The EU Court of First Instance has entirely dismissed Microsoft’s objections to a set of sanctions against the software giant by the EU Commission. The Court rules that the Commission’s decision does not “cause serious and irreparable damage” to Microsoft. Microsoft requested an interim measure from the Court that would hold up the Commission’s decision […]
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Council ready to adopt Common Position on Soft-Pats
Contrary to expectations which already saw the majority of the Council of the European Union shifting to opposing software patents, the Council seems to be taking preparations to adopt its much contested draft Common Position, dating from 26 May 2004, during one of its meetings in the week before Christmas. The current Dutch Presidency of […]
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EU court to decide on Microsoft appeal
The EU’s Court of First Instance will decide between 18 and 20 December whether to suspend the Commission’s sanctions against Microsoft. In March 2004 Microsoft got a record fine of 497 million euro after a five-year investigation by the Competition Commissioner into Microsoft’s business practice. The Commission also ordered Microsoft to offer a version of […]
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Poland blocks EU Software Patent directive
The Polish government has announced today it can not support the proposal from the EU Council for a Software Patents directive, since it is too vague, and leaves too much room for patents on pure software and business methods. This means there is no majority in the Council anymore to formally ratify the agreement that […]
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Conference report: 683 patents on the ethernet plug
On 9 and 10 November 2004, the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) and MERIT, sponsored by OSI, CEA-PME and the Greens/EFA, organised a conference in Brussels on the topic of ‘Regulating Knowledge: Costs, Risks, and Models of Innovation’. Its main theme was the economic consequences of software patents, focussing on economic dynamics, insurance […]
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EU software patents directive delayed
According to a report in the EU eGovernment News, the formal approval of the draft Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions by the EU Competitiveness Council has been postponed due to translation delays. “The political agreement between Member States over the draft Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions was expected to be approved […]
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