EICTA, which describes itself as the voice of the Information
and Communications Technology and Consumer Electronics Industries
in Europe, comprises 49 multinationals – including Apple, Canon,
Cisco, Dell, Ericsson, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft,
Motorola, Nokia and Philips – and 32 national associations from 24
European countries.
EICTA is not advocating that patents should be granted for
software.
"This industry is united in its rejection of patenting of
software," said Mark MacGann, Director General of EICTA and
spokesman of the European ICT industry. "Those who depict the draft
directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions
as some sort of 'software patent law' are at best misinformed and
at worst dishonest, malicious and disrespectful of the European
democratic process."
Instead, its argument is that the Directive is extremely
important for the future of innovation in Europe as it concerns
two-thirds of all inventions in the European high-tech industry,
says MacGann. "A complex legal issue has become emotional as a
result of the sensationalized and inaccurate treatment by opponents
to the legislation."
EICTA has launched a new site to explain its position,
Patents4innovation.org. It says failure to adopt the current text
of the legislation, agreed to by the European Council of Ministers
under the Irish Presidency in May of this year, would jeopardise
the work and livelihood of several hundred thousand researchers and
inventors currently employed in Europe's high-tech industries, and
invalidate the bulk of Europe's high-tech patent portfolio.
MacGann advised European policy makers to "reject the fallacious
claims that the Directive was a backdoor mechanism to introduce
patents on software in Europe."
EICTA's comments were quickly criticised by opponents of the
Directive.
Joachim Jakobs, press officer for the Free Software Foundation
Europe, told OUT-LAW that nobody admits to wanting software patents
– but he says that the European Patent Office has already granted
more than 30,000 patents "that have no technical effect because
they do not deal with the forces of nature."
Jakobs also points out that the version of the Directive that
EICTA wants passed fails to define "technical".
"Software patents are evil, because they monopolise ideas," said
Jakobs. But he claims that avoiding them is proving difficult. He
quotes Gert Kolle, the European Patent Office Director responsible
for International Legal Affairs, as saying: "We have tried to
define 'technicity' vainly." Jakobs notes that Kolle concluded:
"Software is per se technical". With 30,000 software patents
already waiting in Munich for a legal basis, Jakobs warns that the
new Directive threatens unpredictable results.
"Mr MacGann should first demonstrate to the whole European
Parliament and to the European companies the positive effects of
this proposed directive, if there are any," continued Jakobs. He
said the Commission has acknowledged a lack of evidence of
benefits; whereas he cites independent economic studies, conducted
in the US, that demonstrate how patents on ideas block
innovation.
"Mr MacGann's reaction demonstrates that he has no scientific
measure to sustain his theories," concluded Jakobs. "The European
economy deserves better plans and competition, not patents on
ideas."
