[Patents] EUROPEAN BOARD VOTES TO ALLOW SOFTWARE PATENTS

[PILCH Hartmut phm@a2e.de]

> > software patents in thar vote? (I'm specifically interested in Spain,
> > where we are doing some lobbying, and Portugal, where perhaps we can
> > start soon).
> 
> I think they ALL voted to allow software patents.

now I was told by an official of the German delegation that DE+FR+UK
proposed to leave 52.2-3 including 52.2c (software) unchanged.

The reason for them to do so was, as this official stressed, not their
belief in our posistion, which they explicitely don't share, but a signal
from Bruxelles which said that the Commission is keeping back the
directive and is not interested in making any provisions that lead to an
extension of patentability beyond the status quo in Germany.

The DE+FR+UK motion was supported among others by ES.

The German official told me that it is not normal that the EPO allies
itself with small countries against the will of the big patent countries,
which must after all agree to the treaty.  He conceded that this shows an
actual lack of controllability of the EPO.

All countries agree to change 52 by writing universal patentability into
52.1 and removing "industrial applicability" from 52.4.  Also all agree
with the interpretation of 52.3 as voiding all the meaning of 52.2.  I
assume that the debate on 52.2c was a virtual one and there is a tacit
agreement that Liechtenstein, Monaco and others will play the bad guy.

-phm