Retroactivity of the law

[Jean-Michel POURE <jm@poure.com>]

Dear all,

Would it be possible for a professor in law to discuss shortly the question 
of 
retroactivity of the law applied to the proposal of the European Commission?

Here is my point of view:

Because of the principle of "non-retroactivity", any modification in law only 
applied to  future legal situations.

Under this principle, in the event of the European Commission imposing 
unlimited patentability, it seems that all registered patents on software in 
Europe are void. By definition, only the future patents on software may have 
legal power in front of a court.

On the converse, in case of a retroactive law, the European Union may be 
liable for any large case involving a Eupean Company. Example :

In 2006, European company "X" has to pay 2 billion euros to American company 
"Y" for a patent registrered in 2002. Can European company "X" ask the 
European Union to pay the bill because the modification of the law was 
retroactive?

Best regards,
Jean-Michel Pouré