Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-05-Speech-2-059"
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"en.20050705.6.2-059"2
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"Mr President, the legal status of computer programs has been clearly defined for a long time. Software is protected by copyright, and the European Patent Convention precludes the patenting of computer programs. Both legal academics and IT specialists are opposed to there being any change in this situation. The only purpose of the Council directive is to sanction the practices of the European Patent Office, and these practices are both misguided and dangerous.
Speaking on behalf of Professor Buzek and on my own behalf, I would therefore call on the House either to vote in favour of all of the 21 amendments in this package, which restore the meaning the directive had after first reading, or to reject the directive altogether. As noted by the German Parliament in its resolution of 17 February 2005, patent inflation brings with it the risk of a swing in public opinion regarding the effectiveness of a patent system as a tool for innovation and progress. Given this context, it is therefore Parliament’s responsibility to put on the brakes.
There is no need for the scope of patent law to be extended to cover computer programs. The main argument in favour of patent law was the desire to protect investments. Tangible innovations require lengthy testing, followed by capital investment, before any profit is derived from them. Investment in IT assets is usually small, however, if at all noticeable. There is therefore no need for them to be granted additional legal protection.
There is absolutely no truth in the claim that software patents, as interpreted by the European Patent Office, represent an opportunity. Patents also involve risks, and must therefore be used with care. Many myths and half-truths are told about patents, and I shall cite a few examples. It is a myth that the economy always benefits when patent rights are granted. Officials often measure economic innovation by the number of patents, but these can harm investment by limiting competition. There are a large number of leading IT companies that have never applied for patents, and virtually no IT specialists are interested in patent descriptions. No one has succeeded in proving that there is a direct link between patent expansion and economic growth.
Another myth is that patents for programs would help small and medium-sized enterprises, since they would allow these enterprises to gain exclusive rights to their innovative ideas. Patents can act as obstacles as well as protection, however. It is very hard for smaller firms to obtain protection, since the costs of enforcing a patent are extremely high, and sometimes even 100 times greater than the costs of gaining the patent. What is more, it is also necessary to make lengthy enquiries to ascertain whether a certain invention has already been reserved by someone else. With regard to the IT sector, where it is especially easy to make small changes, patenting programs would be the equivalent of creating a minefield."@en1
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