Re: [Fsfe-uk] Draft PR on swpat directive

[Bernhard Kaindl]

Hi, I add some notes:

>          ... The end of the European process is not even nearly
> in sight yet. As I understand it, we have these remaining steps:
>
>       * Council of Ministers approves or amends the directive

If it approves the parliament's text, it's adopted.

The changes or the changed version is then called "common position"
which is sent back to the parliament,

>       * Second reading in the Parliament: again, another chance to amend
>         the directive

and another chance to adopt it or to reject it.

Rejecting and amdending needs an absolute majority at this point.

>       * The council then have a second stab at it

If it approves, it's adopted.

>       * If the council and parliament cannot agree on a common
>         directive, they form a concilliation committee for up to 6 weeks

If the concilliation committee cannot get an agreement, it's rejected.

>       * Parliament then gets a third reading; if they still don't agree
>         with the amended directive then the directive lapses.

Yes, I have to say, even with the notes I've added now, it's too simplified
to give a correct impression.

The most exact descripton I've read so far is the Co-decision Guide of
the Council: http://ue.eu.int/codec/en/EN.pdf

It's found on the codecision info/status page of the council:
http://ue.eu.int/codec/en/

Which I linked from a greater info page on the law procedure:
http://wiki.ael.be/index.php/EULawMakingProcess

>                      ... get adopted, and then you have the period in
> which the member states enact it (I think). To try and outline all of
> this process is, IMO, beyond the scope of a PR exercise. The relevancy
> to the UK is just that this is European legislation, and therefore would
> affect us.

Fully agreed.

> To fall back to football philosophy, I think we have to take things one
> game at a time at the moment. For example, if the Council remove many of
> the good amendments it's unlikely the AFFS would continue to support the
> directive.

100% agreed.

I think what you can say and I think what an journalist could be also
interested in, is that the group in the council prepares it's position
on this law is some intellectual property group which is composed from
delegations from all the national patent offices.

This group already had the law proposal in it's hands, the FFII has
a page which details what it did:

http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/dkpto0209/

So it looks to me that this "EU-PTO" group is even more dangerous
with regard to holes on this directive because they obvoiusly(logically)
want to give all the power to the patent offices, as it can be
interpreted from the changes described at the FFII page above.

It can be guessed that this group will propose some changes which
introduce some holes into the proposal, probably more or less along
the lines what JURI voted to have ammended in June, which would
be really bad, but what else can we expect from a closed council
group of patent office delegations?

I think we must point out that what they will propose will very
likely be a very biased statement towards unlimited patentability
(hidden) or at least give the patent offices the power to interpret
the law like some patent offices, at least the EPO, has done so far.

To me this looks like to ask the people which are known to change
their interpretation of the current legal framework(the EPC) how
they like and make more money from it(the EPO makes good revenue!)
by granting more patents it if they are happy with a new law which
restricts their ability to interpret it like they did and loose much
revenue.

I hope the position of the Council, at least in it's second reading,
will not be determined by this group(but ATM, it seems to be) or
a text which reduces the income of the patent offices will not be
adopted.

This is purely wishful thinking (*dreaming again....*) but maybe
with good work on the national press and national parliaments, the
national ministers which should have the final say in the council
would have their own opinion...

Bernhard

Whatever you do will be insignificant,
but it is very important that you do it
                  -- Gandhi