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EU OKs Patent Bill After Intense Lobbying
by William NewThe European Union on Wednesday approved controversial legislation to tighten patenting rules for "computer-related inventions," but only after intense lobbying the likes of which European officials have never seen, officials said this week.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein told the European Parliament on Tuesday that opponents of the measure have been vocal and at times personal in their campaign based on "half-truths and misconceptions."
British Parliament member Arlene McCarthy, whose committee in June modified the European Commission's proposed directive in several ways unpopular to the U.S. tech industry, said she has never been treated in such an aggressive manner in her time in Parliament, adding that she and her staff had been bullied and harassed.
Her committee's modifications and other provisions have led to open season for lobbyists of all stripes, in addition to U.S. industry. That includes lobbyists for the "open source" software movement, which does not want patents to interfere with the distribution of software whose code can be viewed and altered, and for small businesses, which fear losing to big-company patents.
Elly Plooij-Van Gorsel of the Netherlands said that in her nine years in Parliament, she has never been lobbied in such an improper and aggressive way. There is clearly much at stake, she noted.
What is at stake is that McCarthy and other supporters want to limit the ability of companies and others to obtain patents on every aspect of software. The goal is for Europe to avoid the patent-frenzied environment of the United States, they say. French Parliament member Michel Rocard said tens of billions of dollars are at stake.
Bolkestein asserted that the aim of the directive is neither to abolish nor to extend the ability to patent computer programs. Rather, the aim is to clarify the scope of patents for software and harmonize the underlying laws in nations of the European Union.
He said nothing could be patented that is not already covered by existing patent law. Inventions currently may be patented in Europe through national laws or through the Munich-based European Patent Office.
Despite raising concerns about certain committee amendments, Bolkestein cautioned that failure to harmonize European rules through the directive could result in a need to renegotiate the European Patent Convention, a process that would not involve Parliament. One member characterized that as a threat tantamount to blackmail.
McCarthy gave as an example of a bad patent law Amazon.com's patent on one-click Internet shopping. She also tried to counter arguments that the legislation would harm small businesses or open-source software.
After U.S. officials met with a Parliament member on Aug. 21, the U.S. government submitted comments to the debate that closely reflect views previously expressed by U.S. industry. The comments oppose three amendments to the directive, including a provision requiring an invention to show novelty in its "technical contribution" in order to be eligible for patenting.
Another provision disliked by the United States would exempt from patent infringement the "reverse engineering" of patented software for the purpose of making it able to communicate, or to be "interoperable," with other software. Reverse engineering involves taking a product apart to see how it works in order to duplicate or improve its functions.
The United States also opposed an exception to patents for techniques used for interoperability between computer systems. The U.S. submission says that language is too broad and possibly inconsistent with the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property. The United States favors further discussions with the Europeans on the issue, especially in the context of international forums.
European Spectrum Task Force Meets
The European Commission's new radio-spectrum policy group met on Friday and elected as chairman J.A. Andersen, director-general of the Danish national information technology and telecommunications agency. The vice chairman is M. Goddard, director of spectrum and international policy in the United Kingdom's radiocommunications agency.
The group also agreed to issue in 2004 opinions on issues such as the trading of rights to use radio spectrum, the spectrum implications of the European Union's switch to digital broadcasting, and EU interests in the 2007 World Radiocommunications Conference.
In other news, a new study by the Yankee Group found that Europeans are on track to spend $1 billion on wireless games by 2006, twice that of Americans and half that of Asians. The report also found that such games will comprise only 20 percent of wireless entertainment in Europe, and it identifies a trend of carriers working more with large media and entertainment companies.
Senators Form Caucus On Taiwan
The Senate Taiwan Caucus was inaugurated last week with the aim of strengthening ties between the United States and Taiwan, and addressing issues such as intellectual property rights, trade, defense of freedom and membership in the World Health Organization.
The co-chairmen of the 10-member caucus are Sens. George Allen, R-Va., and Timothy Johnson, D-S.D.
In other Asian news, the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council led a business mission to the Philippines last week, calling on the Filipino government to intensify its reform efforts while there. ASEAN stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations. AOL Time Warner, Boeing, Motorola and Unisys were among the companies that participated in the mission.
India Blocks Site Over 'Anti-National News'
India's telecommunications agency has implemented a recommendation that it block a Yahoo Web site for publishing material deemed "objectionable," the Times of India reports.
The Web site was blocked because it was "promoting anti-national news and containing material against the government of India and the state government of Meghalaya," the government said. The action followed instructions from India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), the first such block since the CERT was established in July.
Also in India, Boeing this week announced plans to open an office in the country to better direct companies doing manufacturing, software and research and development for the Chicago-based Boeing. A company spokesman said the office will have about 10 administrative employees, not software developers and researchers, but could grow in the future.
Meanwhile, IBM has launched a community early-learning program for pre-school children in disadvantaged parts of India. The program uses age-appropriate software to help students get started on academic development, Cyber India Online Limited reports. About 250 programs have been distributed in 44 schools in 16 states, with another 250 on the way by year's end. The program eventually is expected to reach nearly 10,000 children.
Microsoft also has launched a new program for training teachers and disadvantaged students to integrate technology into the Indian curriculum. According to eSchoolNews, Brazil, Italy, Malaysia and Thailand also have signed up for the program, which will provide $250 million in grants, discounts and free software to some developing countries.
First German-Script Domain Registry Planned
Afilias, a global provider of registry services for Internet addresses, announced last week that it will be the first registry to offer domains using German characters bearing the umlaut symbol.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages the domain-name system and approves domain suffixes. ICANN has set standards for the "internationalization" of the domain system.
Afilias will offer the German characters for .info registrations by the end of 2003. About 250,000 .info domains already are registered in Germany, the company said.
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