IP: France against EC/BSA Software Patentability Directive Proposal

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Seth Johnson <seth.johnson () realmeasures dyndns org>
Organization: Real Measures
Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2002 04:50:20 -0500
To: farber () cis upenn edu
Subject: France against EC/BSA Software Patentability Directive Proposal


Dave:

FYI, regarding the recent story about the software
patentability policy from the European Commission.

Seth Johnson

(Forwarded from Patents list, patents () aful org)

-------- Original Message --------
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 09:24:23 +0100 (CET)
From: PILCH Hartmut <phm () a2e de>


http://swpat.ffii.org/vreji/papri/eubsa-swpat0202/france020301/
_________________________________________________________________
                   
   
France 2002-03-01: Software Patentability Directive Proposal
Unacceptable
                   
Industry Minister Christian Pierret writes to the European
Commission, expressing his dismay about the proposed
directive's apparent failure to propose a clear limit on
patentability and to take the interest of european software
creators as well as related european policies such as
e.Europe into account.


-> http://www.telecom.gouv.fr/dp/brevetlogiciel.pdf:
-> http://www.minefi.gouv.fr/minefi/actualites/index.htm:
       
Minister for Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises,
Commerce, Crafts and Consumption

Presse Release

http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/accueil.htm

Paris, 1st of March 2002

Christian PIERRET, the minister of Industrie, SMEs,
Commerce, Crafts and Consumption has notified the European
Commission of the french government's position concerning
the draft for a directive on the patentability of software
which was presented today to the council of the internal
market. Finding that the directive draft does not bring any
of the expected clarifications concerning the limits of
obtainable patentability, the government is worried about
the scope of patentability which could be made open to all
software and consequently to pure thought and business
methods. However it has appeared clearly in France as well
as in Europe that such an extension is largely rejected.

France has made it clear that she finds it essential to
account for the merits and demerits of the protection of
software resulting from the current practise of the European
Patent Organisation (EPO) and its member states. The french
government wants to avoid any draft that could have negative
consequences on innovation, interoperability and free
software as well as on the actors as a whole (publishers,
integrators, users), especially the SMEs. It believes that
the approach of the directive fails to respond adequately to
the economic, scientific and cultural issues of the software
sector as well as to the need to promote innovation which is
one of the priorities of the "e.Europe" action plan. The
Commission has conducted studies and a consultation in the
last third of the year 2000. The directive draft presented
to the member states however does not clearly assess the
risks which a legitimation of the practise of the EPO in the
member states would bring, in comparison to the advantages.
Various studies and reports conducted in several member
states have appeared rather unenthusiastic about such an
evolution. At the initiative of France, among others, the
Diplomatic Conference for the Revision of the European
Patent Convention (EPC) which was held in Munich in november
2000 had decided not to change the rulings of the European
Patent Convention on this subject, wishing that a clear
European position could be found on the basis of a precise
analysis of the economic, technical and legal consequences.

Press Contact:
- Cabinet of Christian PIERRET Laurence GAUNE phone: 01 53
18 44 85



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