Brussels, 23 May 2005. The FFII is proud to announce a new conference on patent policy making, co-sponsored by four prominent members of the European Parliament and by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA). On June 1st, politicians, law scholars and leading businessmen will give an overview of what they think about the proposed European software patents directive.
On the heels of the EPO-FFII event on May 24th and following previous successful events such as the conferences in November and April 2004, the FFII is again co-organising a conference in Brussels on the topic of software patent policy in the EU. Partners supporting this event are the CCIA and EPP MEPs Jerzy Buzek (former Prime Minister of Poland), Valdis Dombrovskis, Tunne Kelam and Zuzana Roithová, as well as numerous SMEs.
Originally presented as a narrow harmonisation measure, the proposed software patents directive has spurred impassioned debate that reflects the enormous stakes for European software developers and users. By deciding what may or may not be patented, the directive will determine how information and knowledge processes are regulated and controlled.
The Council's version of the directive remains largely unchanged from what the Commission proposed over three years ago, despite the expanded debate. The Commission's refusal to review the directive puts the burden on the new Parliament to tackle an extraordinarily controversial and complex issue with no additional guidance.
This conference will examine software patents and the proposed Directive from a range of perspectives:
- the U.S. experience
- European investments in knowledge creation and use
- competition in software, Internet services, and electronic commerce
- social and economic interests of new member countries
- comparative advantage in the global economy
- views of individual companies and the industry at large
- legislative approaches
With participation of stakeholders from both sides of the debate and several experts on hand, this event promises to become another informative and interesting experience. We hope to meet you there!
Practical details
- Date
- 1st June 2005
- Time
Morning: 08:30-11:00
Afternoon: 13:00-17:30
- Location
Morning Programme: European Parliament, Room A5E2
Afternoon Programme: Hotel Renaissance, Rue du Parnasse 19, 1050 Brussels
- Conference registration (free, but mandatory)
Programme
Normal quality screen version (670 KB)
High quality downloadable print version (3.5 MB)
Morning Programme: European Parliament, Room A5E2
(free registration required at http://demo.ffii.org/bxl0506/)
08:30-09:00 - Entrance and registration
09:00-11:00 - Policy overview
- Chair: Peter Jungen, President, European Enterprise Institute
- Keynote: Brian Kahin, University of Michigan, former White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Panel:
- Jerzy Buzek MEP, EPP-ED
- Luc Soete, joint Director Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT)
- Maria Cimaglia, Legal Affairs Advisor, UEAPME
- Jean-Luc Gal, European Patent Office and French permanent representative in the Council
11:00-12:40 - Break and lunch in the Members Dining Room of the EP on the ground floor of the ASP building
Afternoon Programme: Hotel Renaissance, Rue du Parnasse 19, 1050 Brussels
13:00-14:15 - Business and the Economy
- Birgitte Andersen, Director for E-commerce Programme, Birbeck University of London
- Kaj Arnö, Vice President, MySQL AB
- Jean-Paul Smets, CEO, Nexedi
- Stefan Pollmeier, Managing Director, ESR Pollmeier GmbH
14:30-16:00 - Industry and Professional Perspective
Ed Black, President & CEO, CCIA
- Mark McGann, Director General, EICTA
- Cornelia Kutterer, Legal Advisor, BEUC
- Name TBA, Representative of the Professional Contractors Group
- Sławomir Kosz, President, Polski Rynek Oprogramowania
16:15-17:30 - Legislation
- Chair: Piia-Noora Kauppi, MEP
- Reinier Bakels, Law scholar, University of Maastricht
Maria Alessandra Rossi, Law & Economics Scholar, University of Siena
- Hartmut Pilch, President, FFII
Background information
Contact information
Hartmut Pilch and Holger Blasum (Munich Office)
info at ffii org
tel. 0049-89-18979927
Erik Josefsson (Brussels Office)
erjos at ffii org
tel. 0032-484-082063
Jonas Maebe
jmaebe at ffii org
tel. 0032-485-369645
