http://nosoftwarepatents.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php? p=925&sid=2d4cfb1b61d98b039a241e378e35065a#925 Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 3:21 pm Post subject: (EN) 08 DEC 04: No Council decision in 2004, EP may restart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- EU COUNCIL CANNOT ADOPT PROPOSAL FOR SOFTWARE PATENT DIRECTIVE IN 2004 DUE TO NON-EXISTENCE OF QUALIFIED MAJORITY EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MAY RESTART ENTIRE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS Belgian minister Marc Verwilghen officially informed his parliament that the EU Council will postpone its decision until 2005 Cited non-existence of qualified majority as reason European Parliament has right to restart the entire legislative process Brussels (08 December 2004). The EU Council will not propose software patents at least not this year. According to the Belgian minister of economic affairs, the past qualified majority for software patents no longer exists, and no decision will be taken under the current Dutch presidency. The latest development is that members of the European Parliament are looking at the possibility to restart the entire legislative process. That is an option under certain circumstances, such as after elections. Belgian Minister: No Council Decision Until Next Year Belgian minister of economic affairs Marc Verwilghen yesterday told the Belgian parliament that the proposed directive will not be voted on before 2005. Until recently, the Council had said that it would refer its position to the European Parliament this year. Austrian Conservative MEP Othmar Karas, vice president of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-ED), warned against a decision of questionable legitimacy: "It would be downright anti-democratic to adopt a proposal that has no more qualified majority on the day of the official decision. Software patents have no more qualified majority in Europe." In a previous statement on www.NoSoftwarePatents.com, Linus Torvalds and other European software developers had already denounced the Council's current proposal as "deceptive, dangerous, and democratically illegitimate". Transcript of statements by minister Verwilghen: http://www.dekamer.be/doc/CCRI/pdf%5C51%5Cic424.pdf (pages 16 et seq.) Recent statement by Linus Torvalds et al.: http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/intro/app0411.html European Parliament Looking At Possibility to Restart Entire Legislative Process Members of the European Parliament are now looking at the possibility to restart the entire legislative process on software patents. That is allowed for by Rule 55 of the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure if new elections have taken place or if the circumstances have changed. The Commission would have to resubmit a proposal to the European Parliament. "Due to elections and the EU enlargement, a majority of today's MEPs did not get to participate in the first reading last year. This would be an exit strategy for the Council and an opportunity for the parliamentarians and the governments of the new member states to fully participate in this from the start", Florian Mueller said. He furthermore pointed out that "a restart after elections is even an automatism in the German parliament", and expressed his belief that "oddly enough, this may actually be the fastest path to a solution that is acceptable to everyone". According to Mr. Mueller, "MEPs from a variety of political groups are now favorable to this procedural step". Rule 55 of European Parliament's Rules of Procedure: Rule 55: Renewed Referral to Parliament Parliamentary Leader Poses Legitimacy-Related Questions to Council Othmar Karas MEP, vice president of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-ED), has posed parliamentary questions to the EU Council. Mr. Karas describes the political agreement of May 18th as "thin-footed" after the Polish government clarified that it cannot support the current proposal, and in view of parliamentary initiatives in the Netherlands and Germany to change the position of those countries in the Council. The parliamentarian wants to know how the Council plans to take those factors into account. The Council now has to respond to those questions in writing, within six weeks. Homepage of Othmar Karas MEP: http://www.othmar-karas.at Former White House Adviser: "Europe now has an opportunity" The latest evolution of the EU legislative process on software patents is followed with increasing interest in the United States. Professor Brian Kahin, former senior policy analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Clinton administration, now at the University of Michigan, said: "Europe now has an opportunity to examine this all-important policy issue in real depth rather than as an arcane legal argument. Something needs to be done to relieve software developers, knowledge producers, and users in all sectors from the incalculable liabilities that are building up around software processes. By allowing SMEs the 'freedom of action' that only companies with the largest patent portfolios enjoy in the U.S., Europe may benefit from the kind of renewal and regeneration that has distinguished the U.S. economy at least in this area where barriers to entry are inherently low." Brian Kahin biography: http://si.umich.edu/~kahin/bio.html About the NoSoftwarePatents.com Campaign The NoSoftwarePatents.com campaign was launched on October 20th in initially 12 languages and is supported by three IT companies (1&1, Red Hat, and MySQL AB). More information on the campaign is available on the campaign Web site. Contact Information For further information concerning this announcement or the NoSoftwarePatents.com campaign, please contact: Florian Mueller Campaign Manager, NoSoftwarePatents.com telephone +49 (8151) 651850 [email protected] -- Diego Saravia [email protected]