AGRI-FISH PATENT DIRECTIVE BEACHED AGAIN

The Register writes that Poland has intervened again to stop the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries from rubber-stamping the EU directive on computer implemented inventions. Late last week the controversial legislation, better known as the software patent directive, was reported to be an A-List item on the agenda of the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries. This would have seen it voted through to its second reading. Polish under-secretary from the ministry for science and IT, Wlodzimierz Marcinski, first made his opposition to the directive known last year. He said:

"Poland is determined to opt for unambiguous expression in the law of the European Union on issues connected with the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, which at the same time must ascertain that computer programs are excluded from patentability".

Thanks to the second Polish intervention, the vote has been delayed. Opponents of the proposal say that the JURI committee (responsible for legal affairs) now has a window of opportunity to restart the whole process. JURI is scheduled to meet in Brussels on 2 and 3 February, and Florian Muller of pressure group No Software Patents, says there is a good chance that the committee would vote to restart.

Will the whole proposal just go pop?

The IPKat can't understand why this proposal is still before the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries, rather than a body with more suitable experties.