European Parliament Rejects Patent Law

According to Associated Press, the proposal to implement a single patenting criterion for the software solutions across the EU was rejected by the overwhelming majority of the European Parliament. Europe's leaders called instead for comprehensive rules for granting patents to inventions in all fields.

The vote, 648-14 with 18 abstentions, was a defeat for big companies, which had pushed hard for adoption of the bill. Businesses as well as free software advocates had engaged in massive lobbying campaigns.

The bill would have given companies EU-wide patent protection for computerized inventions ranging from programs for complex CAT scanners to ABS car-brake systems. The protection would have extended to computer programs when the software is used in the context of realizing inventions.

But lawmakers said the measure would stifle enterprise and did not promote innovation, and that human knowledge can't be patented.

However, companies, such as: Nokia and Siemens AG have said that the adoption of this law would have given them incentives to invest heavily in R&D. On the other hand, open-source supporters say that this law would have limited the development of software, especially by small businesses.