| Author (Person) | Rana, Saffina |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.26, 15.7.04 |
| Publication Date | 15/07/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Saffina Rana Date: 15/07/04 THE Dutch government has declared that it made a mistake in backing the proposed new directive for patenting of computer-implemented inventions. But in spite of pressure from its national parliament to do so, the government says it will not go back on its position in the Council of Ministers. The government now says that Dutch diplomats in Brussels should have abstained at May's Competitiveness Council instead of voting in favour of the directive. However, the government is expected to lobby Dutch members of the European Parliament to address some of the concerns that are vexing the Dutch legislature. The proposed directive, often known as the software patenting directive, is intended to harmonize the differences in national legislation that exist between member states. In May, EU ministers attending the Competitiveness Council came to a political agreement on the directive, approving it with a qualified majority vote. Austrian, Belgian and Italian delegations abstained from voting, while the Spanish voted against the directive. The Dutch voted in favour. One official at the Dutch Permanent Representation in Brussels told European Voice: "This vote was based on a mistake." This has resulted in the Dutch national parliament asking for a change of vote. According to a Council spokesperson, there is no mechanism in the EU which allows for a member state to change its vote. In any case, if the Dutch government was to have abstained from the voting, it would not have made a difference to the final outcome, based on a qualified majority. Although changing the vote makes no difference to the Council, it is still a cause for concern within the Dutch parliament, which fears that the directive will allow the patenting of standard software. According to a spokesperson from the country's Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Dutch worry is that: "Small companies would not be able to afford to pay to use this type of software and would not be able to grow while the larger computer companies prosper." Another official told European Voice: "The Dutch concerns are the same as MEPs' concerns. This must be taken into consideration at the second reading of the directive at the Parliament." While anxious to make clear that the directive would not permit software per se to be patented, only inventions implemented through software, the Commission is concerned that some form of harmonized legislation should be introduced at EU level to address the discrepancies that exist in member states. The Commission's spokesman for internal market, taxation and customs said: "In the absence of harmonized patent legislation, at the end of the day, member states will be able to patent things that would be illegal under this directive. "We consider the directive the best compromise between conflicting views held by member states. A directive that doesn't fulfil 100% of member state' concerns is better than nothing at all."
The Dutch Government has admitted it made a mistake in supporting the proposed new directive for patenting of computer-implemented inventions. However, despite pressure from the Dutch Parliament, the Government will not go back on its position in the Competitiveness Council. |
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