Plan for European patent court may fail, says EU Commissioner
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Bickering over details to blame The EU Internal Markets Commissioner has warned that Europe is about to miss out on a chance to forge a pan-European patent disputes forum because of long-standing international bickering on what a system might look like.â¦
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NEWSMAKER While a majority of European nations back a voluntary code of ethics that declares computer software as unworthy of patents, some still grant patents to software companies. Follow BetaNews' Scott Fulton as he untangles the European patent debate, with its lively characters and its strange twist on politics in which left-wing opponents are adopting right-wing tactics.
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The European Union's vision of building a hi-tech economy is under threat, according to a European Commission report.
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The world&#39;s software giant Microsoft Corp. said it would comply with the European Commission (EC) &#39;s orders if it fails this week to persuade the European Court of Justice to suspend the EC&#39;s decision.
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(InfoWorld) - The European Parliament urged the European Commission Tuesday to propose a law that would force the dismantlement of the current method of distributing online copyright fees to songwriters and musicians in Europe. The Commission also wants to change the fee distribution regime to open up the market to greater competition. However, it has said it would be enough for collecting societies, which operate in each European country on behalf of artists and publishers, to reform the way they work online themselves. But in a show of hands rather than an actual vote count at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg Tuesday, a large majority of parliamentarians said this wasn't enough. "I am not happy with the softer approach taken by the Commission in regulating this area, which is of growing economic importance," said Hungarian Socialist member of the European Parliament, Katalin Levai. "It requires more than just soft law to open up this market. A binding legal instrument is needed," said Federico de Girolamo, a spokesman at the Parliament. At the moment musicians and publishers must choose the collecting society in the country where they are based to handle the collection of the royalties generated from both online and offline music distribution. These collecting societies collect royalties generated from around Europe on behalf of the artists in their countries. They argue that this form of cooperation is sufficient to create a properly functioning, competitive single market across the 27 countries in the EU. The Commission has been examining the way collecting societies operate for many years. It stopped short of proposing a law to pry open the market because it said this might stifle progress in the fast-evolving space. "The Commission wishes to note that the online market is still only in a stage of development -- we need to be especially careful not to limit its potential by adopting an overly inflexible approach," said Vladimir Spidla, the European commissioner for employment, who was standing in for Single Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy at a meeting with members of the European Parliament Monday. Parliamentarians Monday rejected Spidla's fears. "We don't want unrestrained competition at any cost. We feel a law is needed to ensure competition, while at the same time guaranteeing cultural diversity around Europe and protecting the interests of smaller, lesser-known artists who might suffer if competition drove down royalties too far," said de Girolamo. The Commission didn't rule out introducing a proposal for a law along the lines the Parliament is calling for. However, people close to Commission president Jose Mauel Barroso said the Commission -- the EU's executive body -- has no appetite for pursuing a law. "Barroso has been approached by companies in the music industry who have urged him to avoid proposing a law," said one source close to the Commission who asked not to be named. In a separate but related matter concerning copyright levies charged on blank CDs, photocopiers, printers, and the like, Barroso last year ordered McCreevy to abandon a plan to harmonize rules across the EU after he was lobbied heavily both by copyright owners, including record companies, and by the French government. The Parliament stopped short of giving precise instructions to the Commission concerning an online copyright law. "It's not for us to dictate the content of the framework directive we want to see. That's for the Commission to do," de Girolamo said.
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McCreevy calls for consensus European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has acknowledged that there are "legitimate concerns" about proposals to create a pan-European patent litigation system.â¦
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European Commission President- designate Jose Barroso said he may replace some of his 25 commission nominees to break a deadlock that threatens to stifle efforts to pass Europe&#39;s constitution and boost competitiveness.
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Going nowhere, fast European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has warned that efforts to establish the pan-European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA) are in danger of coming to naught, after the agreement failed to secure the support of national governments on Monday.â¦
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Business & money: Â· Brussels sets benchmark for competition cases Â· Commissioner sounds warning to other big firms
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Don't count your chickens... A landmark court ruling which last year backed the European Commission's last competition action against Microsoft may not be as helpful in its current action as has been widely thought, according to a competition lawyer.â¦
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[JURIST] BBC News is reporting that incoming EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has withdrawn his proposed slate of Commissioners from consideration by the European Parliament after a dispute over the inclusion of controversial Justice portfolio
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An EU commissioner hints of regulatory action if cooperative international roaming doesn't extend from voice to data.
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BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (IPS) - Campaigners have hailed the EU decision to postpone  the adoption of controversial new rules for patenting  computer-based inventions as a victory for âEuropean democracyâ.
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Plans for EU co-operation on asylum and justice will be debated by MPs amid claims the UK could lose key powers.
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STRASBOURG: A majority of the European Parliament appeared Tuesday to be preparing to reject the incoming commission proposed by President-designate JosÃ© Manuel Barroso - the most serious rebellion against a new commission in the history of the European
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The future of controversial European Union legislation that would allow for some software patents was in doubt Thursday after the Polish government switched sides, saying
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A US judge has cast doubt on European Commission evidence in the contested Oracle-PeopleSoft merger, undermining an argument Brussels may want to use if it decides to block it.