US and EU commissioner trying (again!) to sneak software patents into Europe

Glyn sez, "I am loosing count of the number of different way that have been tried to bring software patents into Europe. I thought by now just about everyone knew they where a bad idea."

"European Commissioner McCreevy is pushing for a bilateral patent treaty with the United States. This Tuesday 13 May in Brussels, White House and European representatives will try to adopt a tight roadmap for the signature of a EU-US patent treaty by the end of the year. Parts of the proposed treaty will contain provision on software patents, and could legalise them on both sides of the Atlantic." Link (Thanks, Glyn!)

• [Kieran O’Neill]

  Is McCreevy the right guy to be contacting? He’s the one pushing for this already. (Well, it can’t hurt, but I suspect we need to be contacting other people to make a difference.)

  Who else is involved in this meeting, and who oversees them?

  (I’m keen to send of a few mails.)

• [manicbassman]

  McCreevy should be on trial for treason…

• [Jardine]

  Loosing?

• [toyg]

  McCreevy is a tool for big corporations (especially Microsoft). There’s no point in talking to him, or in talking to pretty much anyone in the current Barroso-led right-wing Commission. “We” Europeans have to (again) lobby our elected Member of European Parliament to stop this, remember their answers, and vote accordingly… European elections are coming up in a few months.

• [Wardish]

  Close,

  Everyone involved in attempting to slide this by by putting it in another bill should be sued.

  This issue has been thoroughly debated and in the end it was voted down. Such a blatant attempt to bypass the previous vote should be actionable.

  At least I would hope so, but I’m not familiar with EU law.

  Ward

• [Jeff]

  I’m more than in favor of US pantent holders getting more power to sue in European courts. Good for us.

• [seanodonnell]

  The proposed legislation will not allow US patent holders any power in European Courts. It only applies to EU patents. US inventors can file for patents in the EU right now and sue. All this proposal will do is drag the EU standards for patents down to the level of the US.

• [Irregular Shed]

  With issues like this they’re always trying to force US ideals on the Europe. (By ‘they’ I mean the various miscreants who get up to these law bending, shaping and manipulating shenanigans – RIAA, MPAA et al.)

  Why not – and here’s a crazy idea, I know, but hear me out – why not reshape US legislation based off the European instead? Where does it say that it’s always going to be a one-way deal?

• [Jeff]

  Why do you think the US wants Euruope to modify its law to be more like the US? If weaker patent law is bad, why?

• [error404]

  Here’s his email address

  [e-mail]

  He’s the only McCreevy listed in the EU directory and his portfolio includes copyright, so I can only imagine that this is the lad.

  Fire Away!

• [seanodonnell]

  @Jeff Money of course, if US software patents became enforceable in the EU, US software companies could look forward to a royalty bonanza and power over their European rivals. As the patent regime in Europe is still largely sane, most European software companies do not have a software patent portfolio to fight back with. Also the US is a large exporter of IP in general, making it the state departments default attitude that more US style IP law should be fought for at every turn.

• [noen]

  why not reshape US legislation based off the European instead?

  We don’t control our country anymore. The corporations write the legislation now and then instruct the government on how it should be interpreted. They want to expand their power to Canada and the EU so that there will be one consistent set of laws for them to operate under. I expect that they will get their way eventually.