EU Parliament Throws Out Software Patent Proposal

Faced with the onerous task of approving or rejecting the European Council proposed Patent Directive, protests, and several states that had already vowed to oppose the law, the European Parliament opted to send the Council back to the drawing board.  The directive, based on an agreement reached in May 2004 by the European Commission was designed to align the patent laws of the 25 member states and afford union-wide patent protection to computer implemented inventions.  Proponents of the law claimed uniform protection is essential to encouraging technological innovation. Opponents claimed that the bill would over-Americanize European Patent law by allowing patents not only on software inventions but also on computer implemented business methods such as the Amazon.com one-click shopping system.