E.U. software patent draft may get voted on this year

A controversial draft directive on software patents could be headed for a vote this year after all, with the news it could be approved by experts from the Environment or Agriculture and Fisheries Councils.

Diplomats from the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday to consider whether to send the proposed "Patentability of Computer-implemented Inventions" directive through to a vote at one of the remaining meetings of the Council of the European Union this year, according to a Council agenda published on Friday. Item 5, on page 2, lists the discussion of whether to adopt the directive as the "common position" of the Council. The only two meetings left this year which could vote on the directive are those of the Environment Council on 20 December and the Agriculture and Fisheries on 21-22 December.

Ordinarily, such a rubber-stamp vote would be uncontroversial, but increasing political pressure earlier led the Council to delay its planned vote until 2005. Marc Verwilghen, the Belgian minister of economics and energy, told his country's Parliament that the relevant directive would not be voted on by the Council of the European Union before the end of the year "for the reason that the qualified majority no longer exists".

This is because a change in voting rules during 2004 meant that countries opposing the directive, such as Poland, acquired enough sway to block the directive from being adopted.

At stake is whether companies will be able to protect their software with patents, something seen as desirable by some large companies, but which economists, computer scientists, developers and others argue would favor giant corporations and mire Europe's software industry in legal wrangling.

The Council agenda shows that despite Verwilghen's remarks and the widely stated opposition of Poland, the Council's current Dutch presidency has not abandoned its plans to push the draft legislation through. Because of the technical workings of the Council, it could still possible for the directive to be passed.

Despite public opposition of Poland to the directive, the country hasn't officially registered its opposition to the directive, according to the Dutch presidency. A representative of the presidency said last week that the May agreement was still on track to be adopted at a Council meeting. Sources close to the situation in Brussels say that pressure is being put on the Poles to not block the vote on the directive.

The European Commission also said last week that no country had officially registered an intent to block the "political agreement" behind the draft directive.

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