Commission announces consultations on software patents

Comments from interested parties, the public at large and Member States have been invited until 15 December 2000 on the basis of a consultation paper prepared by the Commission's services.

Considerable debate has taken place in Europe recently about the patentability of computer software. Some consider that patents in this field tend to stimulate innovation in this sector by providing adequate protection of the substantial amounts of money and resources that can be required to develop sophisticated and specific software. Others believe that patents will on the contrary stifle fair competition and hinder innovation. The Commission says the aim of the consultation is to help it to identify the best approach to the issue so as to strike the right balance between promoting innovation and ensuring adequate competition in the market place.

Some sections of European industry have repeatedly asked for swift action to remove the current ambiguity and legal uncertainty surrounding the patentability of software-related inventions. Their argument is that in the absence of such patentability, Europe risks losing the global innovation race in this high-technology sector. In the United States and Japan it is much easier to obtain patents for such inventions. On the other hand, a substantial number of SMEs and those favouring the creation and use availability of free open source software, known as the open source community, have increasingly raised concerns about software patents.

The consultations just launched aim to give all parties another chance to comment on the issue.

Harmonisation of national patent laws on the issue is seen as necessary. This should provide greater transparency for European companies, especially for SMEs. The Commission believes it should also improve the competitive position of the European software industry in relation to its major trading partners. The need to improve the competitive situation is seen as all the more urgent because of the increasing distribution and use of computer programs on a world-wide scale via the internet.

The Commission says it is not immediately evident at what level harmonisation should take place. It cites the example of the US granting patents for computer-implemented inventions that are increasingly being granted for business methods, in particular for business methods with applications in electronic commerce.

The Commission will define its final position only after the end of this consultation.