POLISH LEAD CAVALRY CHARGE AGAINST THE PATENTING OF CIIS

EurActiv.com reports that, led by former Polish PM Jerzi Buzek, 61 Members of the European Parliament have introduced a motion asking the Commission to reconsider its proposal on the controversial software patents directive. Noting that "substantial changes" have been made to the proposal since the June 2004 parliamentary elections, the MEPs are demanding that the Commission review its plans. The coalition is made up of 61 MEPs from 13 countries and four opposing political factions. Half of them are from Poland, which withdrew its support to a ministers' agreement on the directive last year (see the IPKat, 21 December 2004).

There was no indication on 10 January that the motion would stand a chance of being voted on by Parliament any time soon. Under Article 55 of the Parliament's Rules of Procedure, the initiative would need to come from the committee in charge of the dossier. The plan could end up going nowhere, as it failed to secure support from Green MEPs who have persistently campaigned against the patentability of computer-implemented inventions (CIIs).

The Polish winter campaign has scattered the CII patent lobby

Without prejudice to the pros and cons of patenting computer-implemented inventions, the IPKat cannot help admiring Poland for her confidence in participating so vigorously in the EU decision-making process. He hopes that some of the EU's senior member states will now also take a greater interest in intellectual property matters as they arise.