Just a little note to say ...
Following the country's last-minute intervention in December, the Council of the European Union decided not to adopt controversial legislation on patenting computer inventions. The directive had been slated for approval without debate.
Delighted at the outcome, Norbert Bollow, a Swiss computer programmer, set up a website so people could add their names to a thank you letter that will be sent to the Ministry of Science and Information Technology. To date, over 25,000 names have been added, and websites are being encouraged to put a "Thank you, Poland!" banner on their pages.
The legislation surrounds the patenting of computer programs and has been hotly debated.
Advocates of the directive say it is merely a clarification of current patent rules across the EU. However, opponents say it legitimizes the patenting of pure software, such as basic operating system procedures and generic algorithms widely in use. Many believe it could spell the end for small businesses, software developers and open-source advocates.
However, after tough negotiations and a compromise draft, EU ministers were expected to pass the legislation. But Wlodzimierz Marcinski, Polish Undersecretary of State for Science and Information Technology, voiced concerns at a meeting of the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries in Brussels on December 21, and said Poland wanted more time to prepare a "constructive declaration". This was accepted and the directive was removed from the agenda.
"Poland is determined to favor unambiguous phrasing in European Community law," said Marcinski. "The phrasing [of the text] should ... exclude the patenting of software," he told fellow EU ministers during a televised debate.
The website is at http://thankpoland.info/.
Delighted at the outcome, Norbert Bollow, a Swiss computer programmer, set up a website so people could add their names to a thank you letter that will be sent to the Ministry of Science and Information Technology. To date, over 25,000 names have been added, and websites are being encouraged to put a "Thank you, Poland!" banner on their pages.
The legislation surrounds the patenting of computer programs and has been hotly debated.
Advocates of the directive say it is merely a clarification of current patent rules across the EU. However, opponents say it legitimizes the patenting of pure software, such as basic operating system procedures and generic algorithms widely in use. Many believe it could spell the end for small businesses, software developers and open-source advocates.
However, after tough negotiations and a compromise draft, EU ministers were expected to pass the legislation. But Wlodzimierz Marcinski, Polish Undersecretary of State for Science and Information Technology, voiced concerns at a meeting of the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries in Brussels on December 21, and said Poland wanted more time to prepare a "constructive declaration". This was accepted and the directive was removed from the agenda.
"Poland is determined to favor unambiguous phrasing in European Community law," said Marcinski. "The phrasing [of the text] should ... exclude the patenting of software," he told fellow EU ministers during a televised debate.
The website is at http://thankpoland.info/.
