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EU promotes new patent war, claim

Ducks quack at €uromarket

By INQUIRER staff: Thursday 13 July 2006, 09:36

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33002

INTERNAL MARKET commissioner Charles McCreevy has sided with industry monopolist Microsoft and other IT multinationals, sparking a new software patent furore.

That's according to anti-software patent veteran Florian Mueller, who said that a hearing in Brussels on the future of patent policy showed McCreevy siding with the lobbyists by supporting the European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA).

Mueller said he spoke out against the proposals at the forum yesterday. He claimed the EPLA was "just another attempt to give software and business method patents a stronger legal basis in Europe than they have now. The EPLA [will] have far worse consequences than the rejected patentability directives would have had".

He said software patents would become easier to enforce in Europe and patent holders would be encouraged to go to law.

The forum had around 200 attendees including lobbyists, lawyers and government reps, with 50 people speaking, most of them backing EPLA.

Mueller said speakers included patent lawyers from EADS, Siemens, Qualcomm, Bosch and Thomson. But, said Mueller, Austrian MEP Eva Lichtenberger complained that the movement against the EPLA was under represented.

More on Mueller's bog, here. µ

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Euro software patent law restarts