Karas0411En

2004-11-23 AT/EU Karas (EPP VP, economic policy speaker) asks for Revision of Council Software Patent Agreement, supports Poland's Move

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The economic policy speaker and vice president of the EPP-ED (conservative + christian democrat) group in the European Parliament, Othmar Karas of the Austrian People's Party, explains why software patents are bad for the Lisbon Agenda, asks the Council to respond positively to Poland's recent request to revise its political agreement of 2004-05-18.

Karas Statement (FFII translation from German)

"I share the concerns of many software developers, that by patentability of software code the interests of small and medium IT companies could be lastingly damaged. Since the Polish government has moreover declared officially that it can not support the Council's proposal for a directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, Austria and the Council now have the chance to rethink their hitherto positions and to stop ignoring the more balanced approach of the European Parliament", said the economic policy speaker of the Austrian People's Party's delegation in the European Parliament, Othmar Karas, in Brussels today.

In a letter to the competent minister and vice-chancellor Gorbach, Karas asked him to make sure that the Common Position of the Council will contain appropriate provisions. "For a balanced solution, the decision of the European Parliament provides a good basis. The original proposal of the European Commission goes much too far. Our proposal, by contrast, draws the needed boundaries and determines a reasonable framework for the patentability of computer-implemented inventions", writes Karas in his letter.

In principle Karas applauds the introduction of a directive that ensures a uniform application of law by patent offices and patent courts in the interest of a functioning internal market, for the sake of legal security and avoidance of distortion of competition. "This is a very important measure simply for the reason that the current practise of the European Patent Office must be prevented from taking hold. Contrary to the text of the European Patent Convention, the EPO has granted nearly 30,000 patents on pure software", Karas stressed.

The !SMEs too must be enabled by meaningful regulations to participate in innovation and development without being burdened by high fees or unjustified monopolies. "In practise, software patents create unsurmountable bureaucratic obstacles. It is neither reasonable nor practicable that a programmer, who has received technical but not legal training, must wade through the patent databases of the member states in order to find out whether a process which he has developed has already been protected by third parties", criticed Karas. "Therefore I reject the patentability of software code as a matter of principle".

"The quantity of granted patents says nothing about the innovativity and competitiveness of an economic area - statements in the Lisbon goals that link these two need to be questioned. Only the quality of the individual achievement should matter", said Karas. Since the patent system is based on territorial rights, arguments about competition disadvantages with regard to third states, especially the USA or Asia, do not hold water. "If on the territory of the EU there were no software patents, enterprises from these third countries would also not be able to obtain such patents. On the other hand, European companies are already now free to apply for and obtain software patents in third countries", Karas concluded.

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