[Discussioni] [Fwd: [Patents] [phm a a2e.de: [ffii] European Parliament demands Restart, Conference of Presidents adopts Motion]]

[Stefano Maffulli]

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: PILCH Hartmut <phm a a2e.de>
To: patents a aful.org
Subject: [Patents] [phm a a2e.de: [ffii] European Parliament demands Restart, Conference of Presidents adopts Motion]
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 13:14:37 +0100

PRESS RELEASE FFII -- [ Europe / economy / ICT ]

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European Parliament demands Restart, Conference of Presidents adopts Motion
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17 February 2005 -- The European Parliament is requesting a renewed
referral of the draft software patent directive to the European
Parliament.  After a 19:2 vote in JURI for the motion on 2nd February,
the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliaments has adopted
the JURI motion for a return to a 1st reading on the software patent
directive.

The decision appeared uncertain until the last minute.  The Tabling
Office (Harald Romer, EPP) had not put the issue on today's agenda,
suggesting that it was appropriate to wait for the Council to adopt
its Common Position first, as Commissioner McCreevy had suggested.
However, due to an initiative of the Greens which found support in the
other groups, the motion was eventually tabled and approved by the
Conference of Presidents, i.e. the heads of the political groups in
the Parliament.

Hartmut Pilch, president of FFII, explains the situation

  It is not certain that the Commission will comply with the request of
  the Parliament, nor that it will use the opportunity to draft a good
  text.   The previous text of the Commission was such a disaster that
  even the pro-patent forces couldn't have been satisfied with it.
  The new Commission has already had enough clashes with the European
  Parliament, and they have no reason to attach themselves to a failed
  undertaking of Bolkestein's era.   It is therefore not unlikely at
  all that the Commission will seize the opportunity that the
  Parliament is presenting it on a silver tablet.

As reported on

        http://wiki.ffii.org/LtrFfiiCons050217En
        http://wiki.ffii.org/LtrFfiiCec050217En

250 FFII demonstrators have meanwhile personally submitted messages to
the Council and the Commission, in which they ask for either reopening
of discussions in the Council and/or for a fresh start of the
procedure in the Commission.  As was stressed by the Polish ministers
at yesterday's Thank Poland ceremony, all these different means serve
one aim, to make the Commission and Council begin an open discussion
on the subject and conduct a real 1st reading.

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Press Conference with Buzek, Liepitz, Gerkens et al
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The FFII press lunch after the meeting of the Conference of Presidents
has started in Conference in Hotel Renaissance, Rue de Parnasse 19,
Brussels (near the EU parliament).

The press conference will begin at 13:30.  Among the guests are MEP
Jerzy Buzek (prime minister of Poland 1997-2001 and leading initiator
of the restart motion), French Green MEP Alain Liepitz and Arda
Gerkens, the originator of the recent motion in the Dutch Parliament.

Members of the Commission, Council and Parliament as well as
journalists are cordially invited.

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Contact
==========================================================================

Hartmut Pilch, phm a ffii.org, +49-89-18979927 (German/English/French)

Jonas Maebe, jmaebe a ffii.org, +32-485-36-96-45 (Dutch/English)

Benjamin Henrion, bhenrion a ffii.org, +32-498-292771 (French/English)

Dieter Van Uytvanck, dietvu a ffii org, +32-499-16-70-10 or
+31-6-275-879-10 (Dutch/English)

Erik Josefsson, erjos a ffii.org, +46-707-696567 or +32-485-83-21-26
(Swedish/English)

Roman Muñoz, tatel a infonegocio.com +34-943341472 (Spanish)

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About the FFII -- http://www.ffii.org
==========================================================================

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) is a
non-profit association registered in several European countries, which
is dedicated to the spread of data processing literacy. FFII supports
the development of public information goods based on copyright, free
competition, open standards. More than 500 members, 1,200 companies
and 75,000 supporters have entrusted the FFII to act as their voice in
public policy questions concerning exclusion rights (intellectual
property) in data processing.


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