1 April 2005

Campaign for Creativity meets with Parliament Rapporteur Michel Rocard MEP

Snap shot of the results to date from our Parliamentary poll, plus a
status update on the Directive Leading anti-IP campaigner Florian Mueller
resigns from NoSoftwarePatents.com.

Campaign for Creativity meets with rapporteur Michel Rocard

A group of six supporters consisting of small, medium and large companies,
patent attorneys and Simon Gentry met Michel Rocard, the MEP drafting the
European Parliament's report on the CII directive, in Brussels on Tuesday
29 March.

Mr Rocard was keen to hear what we had to say and acknowledged our
fundamental point that without patents, companies would have no way of
protecting their innovations from exploitation by competitors.  It was
clear that he has only recently begun to think deeply about the issues and
was impressed with what we had to say.  Axel Pfeiffer explained that as a
patent lawyer, he has never been asked to patent software code (In fact he
has hardly ever seen software code), but often helps clients to patent
inventions which may require software to be realised.

On the whole it was a constructive meeting and we hope to contribute to Mr
Rocard's thinking as he drafts his report.   We would encourage any other
individuals or companies to seize the opportunity of meeting Mr Rocard and
making the case in support of continued patentability.  Please don't
hesitate to let us know if you need any help requesting or organising a
meeting with Mr Rocard or any of his colleagues.  If travelling to
Brussels is not possible, you could also send Mr Rocard a letter, and
email or phone his office to make your support known.

MEP snapshot poll + status update

We are continuing to receive responses to our questionnaire sent to MEPs
before the Easter break.  Although it is too early to provide a totally
accurate assessment of the position of MEPs on the Directive yet, the
early indications are that the pro and anti camps are finely balanced.
There is everything to play for.

As we noted in the article above, the initial stages of the Second Reading
by the Parliament have begun.  We should have a clearer idea of where the
debate is heading when Mr Rocard publishes his report in mid-April and it
is now pretty certain that the final vote on the Directive will take place
on 6 July.  Parliament will require a minimum of 367 votes (irrespective
of absences and abstentions) to amend or reject the Directive. If
amendments are made the proposal will return to the Council of Ministers
for further consideration and possibly negotiations to reach an agreement
between the Council of Ministers and the Parliament on a final text.

NoSoftwarePatents.com

Florian Mueller has resigned from NoSoftwarePatents.com apparently to
devote more time to developing a computer game.  NSP will be merged with
the FFII.

Events for the coming weeks:

* A booklet explaining the issues around the CII Directive should be
  ready in the coming weeks.  This is a pocket sized information booklet
  that addresses the issues underlying the Directive, and outlines in
  detail our concerns and proposals. Please let us know if you would like
  a copy when it is ready.
* Patent Facts is going to be a series of specifically designed one page 
  fact sheets that explain the varying roles of patents in society. These
  will be sent to all MEPs, and we will also make them available from our
  website.
* The Actions page of our website is also being updated to reflect
  the state of the debate. If you have any suggestions you would like to
  make on changes to the site, we would welcome and appreciate your
  feedback.

Thank you again for your valued time, and please keep an eye open for 
opportunities to leverage support for the Directive and the Campaign for 
Creativity.