Mary Harney has given a speech launching a brochure on Ireland's priorities for the Competitiveness council:
http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?CALLER=NHP_EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&S...
The brochure itself (16 page pdf) is at http://www.eu2004.ie/templates/document_file.asp?id=2054
Two, almost identical, instances of the word 'software', page 6:
A knowledge-based economy must have effective instruments and laws to protect and promote investment in research and innovation. The enforcement of intellectual property rights, a common regime for the community patent, community trade mark regulations, and the *protection of software inventions* form an important underpinning to the research and knowledge-based economy. We will ensure that progress is made in these areas, which play an essential part in supporting our adjustment to new and higher value economic activities.
and page 12:
A knowledge-based economy must have effective instruments and laws to protect and promote investment in research and innovation. A harmonised approach to enforcement of intellectual property rights, EU wide protection of patents afforded by a community patent, and the *protection of software inventions*, form an important underpinning of the research and knowledge-based economy. We will ensure that progress is made on these areas which play an essential part in supporting our adjustment to new and higher value economic activities. The Community Patent is important for European industry and must be available to firms at reasonable cost. The Irish Presidency will make every effort to ensure its adoption. With a view to completing the internal market in the area of intellectual property rights, an important initiative is the Directive on enforcement which aims to harmonise enforcement measures in respect of those IP rights which have already been substantively harmonised at Community level. It is the intention of the Irish Presidency to make every effort to achieve a common position within the Council on this initiative.
Is this a new linguistic formula to look out for, emphasising the "protection" of software inventions, and leaving carefully blurred the question of whether this requires "patent protection" or "copyright protection" ?
Perhaps if we have a friendly Irish journalist they could try to find out for us ?
All best,
James.