The announcement follows reports that the European Commission is divided on the question of whether or not to open the door to software patents in European law. At present, software as such cannot be patented. However, software patents can often be obtained by exploiting an exception that allows patents for software having a “technical effect.” In the US, software and business method patents are common.
Ms Hewitt called for “urgent European action to clarify” the law. She added:
"Some people who responded to our consultation favour making it easier to patent software and others see patents as a threat to development of new software. Our key principle is that patents should be for technological innovations. So a program for a new machine tool should be patentable but a non-technological innovation, such as grammar-checking software for a word-processor, should not be. The majority of those who responded agree with the Government and oppose patents for ways of doing business on the internet."
Consumer Affairs Minister Dr Kim Howells said:
"Patent law is harmonised under the European Patent Convention, and we shall be recommending the conclusions we have reached to our European partners. The European Commission is currently evaluating its own consultation on software patents, and we shall be pressing them for an early Directive which embodies our conclusions, and with which the Convention can then be aligned.
"In particular we shall press for clarification of European patent law to put an end to uncertainty about what software can and cannot be patented. The consultation showed that at present there is confusion, and that that is damaging."