[Patents] EPO - Italy

[Bernard Lang Bernard.Lang@inria.fr]

----- Forwarded message from Gregory Aharonian <srctran@world.std.com> -----

Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 16:09:02 -0500 (EST)
From: Gregory Aharonian <srctran@world.std.com>
To: patent-news@world.std.com
Subject: PATNEWS: EPO/EPC; ...

Greg Aharonian
Internet Patent News Service


                              ====================

    --  COMMENTS FROM ITALY ON EPC DELIBERATIONS ON SOFTWARE PATENTS

From: "roma@sib.it" <roma@sib.it>
Dear Greg,

    In answer to the question posed by Steve Probert and published in
PATNEWS of November 15/16, we would like to contribute the following
comment to your piece on amendments to the European Patent Convention.

    True, the European Patent Office is not administered by the European
Commission. But what is the meaning of a consultation on the patentability
of software ending on December 15 if the Diplomatic Conference to revise
the European Patent Convention closing on November 29 is about to delete
computer programs from the list of non patentable subject matter of the
European Patent Convention?

    The European Commission's launching of a consultation on the patenting
of computer programs appears to convey a political message to European
Union member countries which are also members of the European Patent
Convention. The Commission's consultation should be read as an invitation
to oppose the amendment of the EPC which would make computer programs
patentable, and have the issue regulated on the basis of conclusions which
the Commission will draw from the consultation. If this interpretation is
correct, and if enough EU/EPC member countries agree with the Commission's
message -and there is a widespread feeling that this is the case- it would
be logical to expect that the amendments to the EPC making computer
programs patentable will be rejected by the Diplomatic Conference.

    You are welcome to publish the above as our comment if you think it
may interest readers.

Best regards

Laura Ercoli
Societe Italiana Brevetti - Intellectual and Industrial Property
Piazza di Pietra 39
00186 Rome, Italy
tel. +39 06 695441
fax +39 06 69544810

                              ====================

----- End forwarded message -----

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