Open source lobby struggles in EU patent debate

BRUSSELS - Supporters of open source and free software saw an extravagant lobbying exercise against a planned European Union law on software patents backfire on them Thursday.

More than 300 software developers and entrepreneurs opposed to granting patents on software programs attended a one-day conference at the European Parliament in Brussels Thursday, hosted by their main ally in the Parliament, the Green Party.

Their aim is to warn lawmakers of the dangers they see in passing a Europe-wide law on software patents. Patent protection, they argued, stifles innovation in software development among small companies and programmers by creating a legal minefield only the richest of corporations can navigate successfully.

The conference comes one month before the proposed directive on software patents is to be debated formally for the first time in the European Parliament. But the event, which included an elaborate lunch for delegates with cabaret entertainment on a roadside terrace in the heart of the European Parliament district in Brussels, may have caused more harm than good, said some Parliament officials.

"They were preaching to the converted. They should have been speaking to MEPs (members of the European Parliament) that favor software patents," said one, who pointed out that the most important member of the European Parliament at this stage in the debate did not attend.

Arlene McCarthy, a member of the legal affairs committee responsible for choosing the amendments to the proposed law to be tabled at next month's plenary session, said she wasn't invited to the event.

Joint organizers of the conference from the European Free Alliance, a free software lobbying group, said they did invite McCarthy but admit that the invitation wasn't sent until the beginning of this week. A spokesman for the Alliance said McCarthy was also invited to submit a statement which would have been read out to delegates, but she declined the offer.

McCarthy's office said it did submit a statement but that it was never circulated at the conference. "It's not smart to snub the rapporteur on the lead committee responsible for guiding this debate. They won't have done themselves any favors by appearing to (disrespect) McCarthy," said one Parliament official who requested anonymity.

Speaking from her office while the conference lunch was in full swing in the street below, McCarthy accused the conference organizers of not wanting to hold an open debate.

She also said she will discard extreme amendments submitted by Green MEPs. "I won't accept amendments that exclude patentability per se," she said.

McCarthy, along with many MEPs from a wide range of political parties, believes a Europe-wide law on software patenting is required in order to harmonize law across the 15 member states of the Union. She also believes that European software developers will be at a competitive disadvantage to their American counterparts without patent protection.

However, she agrees with opponents of the draft law that it would be wrong to have the level of protection granted to developers in the U.S., where mundane software devices can be registered for patent protection.

"I want to make it harder to get patents in Europe than at present," McCarthy said, adding that the Green party would be "mad" to vote against the amended version of the draft she favors.