Comments from interested parties, the public at large and Member
States have been invited until 15 December 2000 on the basis of a
consultation paper prepared by the Commission's services.
Considerable debate has taken place in Europe recently about the
patentability of computer software. Some consider that patents in
this field tend to stimulate innovation in this sector by providing
adequate protection of the substantial amounts of money and
resources that can be required to develop sophisticated and
specific software. Others believe that patents will on the contrary
stifle fair competition and hinder innovation. The Commission says
the aim of the consultation is to help it to identify the best
approach to the issue so as to strike the right balance between
promoting innovation and ensuring adequate competition in the
market place.
Some sections of European industry have repeatedly asked for
swift action to remove the current ambiguity and legal uncertainty
surrounding the patentability of software-related inventions. Their
argument is that in the absence of such patentability, Europe risks
losing the global innovation race in this high-technology sector.
In the United States and Japan it is much easier to obtain patents
for such inventions. On the other hand, a substantial number of
SMEs and those favouring the creation and use availability of free
open source software, known as the open source community, have
increasingly raised concerns about software patents.
The consultations just launched aim to give all parties another
chance to comment on the issue.
Harmonisation of national patent laws on the issue is seen as
necessary. This should provide greater transparency for European
companies, especially for SMEs. The Commission believes it should
also improve the competitive position of the European software
industry in relation to its major trading partners. The need to
improve the competitive situation is seen as all the more urgent
because of the increasing distribution and use of computer programs
on a world-wide scale via the internet.
The Commission says it is not immediately evident at what level
harmonisation should take place. It cites the example of the US
granting patents for computer-implemented inventions that are
increasingly being granted for business methods, in particular for
business methods with applications in electronic commerce.
The Commission will define its final position only after the end
of this consultation.
