The NYT is picking up the story on EU software patent legislation getting bogged down. Quotes:
In a rare move, the European Parliament demanded Thursday that a
controversial proposal for a law on software patents be scrapped and
that the debate begin anew.
The proposed law is intended to
harmonize the patent rules of the 25 countries in the European Union.
Current laws do not permit software patents, but some have been
registered in recent years.
The decision was roundly welcomed
by opponents of software patents, who assert that patent protection
hinders innovation by software developers.
Groups representing
patent holders, who see patents as a way of ensuring that inventors are
rewarded for their efforts, were divided over the latest development in
the often heated, three-year-long debate over the proposal.…
The European Commission, the union’s executive body, must now decide
whether to accept Parliament’s decision to start over or risk a
confrontation by ignoring it.The commission said it would respond to Parliament after ministers of the 25 member nations discuss the matter on March 7.