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Directive hangs. Legal affairs committee tries all buttons...
sleepy_shadow
Ranger
in Zocalo v2.0
Yay! They finally found the Reset button! :D
I am likewise happy that, despite previous impressions of nobody doing anything... even two MEPs (of six) from my country bothered to sign a petition calling for a repeated first reading.
[quote]Brussels, 2 February 2005 - The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (JURI) has decided with a large majority to ask the Commission for a renewed referral of the software patents directive. With only two or three votes against and one abstention, the resolution had overwhelming support from the committee, and all-party backing.[/quote]
[url=http://wiki.ffii.org/Restart050202En]http://wiki.ffii.org/Restart050202En[/url]
[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4232971.stm]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4232971.stm[/url]
A flawed directive on software patenting, which previously seemed positively doomed (to endless bouncing the the Council of Ministers agenda)... is finally going back to EuroParl.
Hopefully a repeated first reading will permit sorting it out into something acceptable. Either something which continues the policy of not patenting ideas for manipulating data (since code is already protected by copyright)... or a compromise of sorts.
A minimum compromise should:
-- Ensure that software patents cannot be wielded as a weapon against smaller companies (those without spare money and lawyers to patent their code)
-- Ensure that software patents cannot be wielded as a weapon against free software (ventures which earn no profit, and would be forced to change their nature if they needed money to protect their existence)
-- Ensure that excessive patentability will not create a litigation society, nor compromise ability to determine what is patented, nor encourage mining the market with "submarine patents", nor encroach on a person's right to create computer programs without first hiring a lawyer.
I am likewise happy that, despite previous impressions of nobody doing anything... even two MEPs (of six) from my country bothered to sign a petition calling for a repeated first reading.
[quote]Brussels, 2 February 2005 - The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (JURI) has decided with a large majority to ask the Commission for a renewed referral of the software patents directive. With only two or three votes against and one abstention, the resolution had overwhelming support from the committee, and all-party backing.[/quote]
[url=http://wiki.ffii.org/Restart050202En]http://wiki.ffii.org/Restart050202En[/url]
[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4232971.stm]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4232971.stm[/url]
A flawed directive on software patenting, which previously seemed positively doomed (to endless bouncing the the Council of Ministers agenda)... is finally going back to EuroParl.
Hopefully a repeated first reading will permit sorting it out into something acceptable. Either something which continues the policy of not patenting ideas for manipulating data (since code is already protected by copyright)... or a compromise of sorts.
A minimum compromise should:
-- Ensure that software patents cannot be wielded as a weapon against smaller companies (those without spare money and lawyers to patent their code)
-- Ensure that software patents cannot be wielded as a weapon against free software (ventures which earn no profit, and would be forced to change their nature if they needed money to protect their existence)
-- Ensure that excessive patentability will not create a litigation society, nor compromise ability to determine what is patented, nor encourage mining the market with "submarine patents", nor encroach on a person's right to create computer programs without first hiring a lawyer.
Comments
[B]This is great news, but I still wish they'd gone for the power off button instead. [/B][/QUOTE]I would prefer "main switch" of guillotine.
Finnish translation for main switch is "pääkatkaisin"... (pää=head)
:D
[B]I would prefer "main switch" of guillotine.
Finnish translation for main switch is "pääkatkaisin"... (pää=head)
:D [/B][/QUOTE]... and "katkaisin" could also be translated as cutter, so we're talking about some serious beheading here. But since this kind of interlinguistic and translational joking doesn't really matter, I just want to say that this little bureaucratic game isn't quite over yet. One battle has been won, but there will be many more to come and in order to achieve a sane legislation the opposing force must keep an eye (or preferably both eyes) over these greedy corporations at all times.
[url]http://wiki.ffii.org/Com050228En[/url]
In this matter, Barroso, McCreevy & co. are really inviting the Commission to wade into deep. They really should have refrained from "zombifying" this lifeless and unpassable directive.
To try forcing a "pass" vote in Council (which despite its easier-corruptable nature, may still veer out in the right direction, and keep *not* passing the directive)...
...only to face the consequences during second reading in EuroParl (as opposed to constructive debate during a repeated first reading)... is *really* foolish, compared to routing this massively controversial piece where it really belongs... to be completely redesigned (or completely discarded).
-----------
Unfortunately the fellow my country sent for Commisioner... appears *not* a very sharp pencil. I even have reason to doubt... whether he is aware of the matter. Summed up: I can't rely on him doing anything.
But there are a few reasonable MEP's out there... of whom I think I will be writing to the vice president of the Foreign Affairs Committee. I would have wanted to write to him anyway... now I simply have extra reasons. Since he supported of the repeated first reading anyway... I merely want to thank him for contributing, and inform him that I appreciate the gesture.
A directive flawed like that... no... it won't pass. It will either be fixed or discarded... and I will do my part to ensure that.