[Ecommerce] Dutch Parliament causes EU software patents crisis

[James Love]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=3D16984

Dutch Parliament causes EU software patents crisis

Netherlands says: "We abstain"

By INQUIRER staff: Friday 02 July 2004, 11:50
A PLAN by the European Council of Ministers to force the continent wide
adoption of the Directive on Software Patents suffered a blow yesterday
when the Dutch Parliament ordered a minister to withdraw the country's
support.

The minister of economic affairs had previously voted in favour of
Council's directive on behalf of the Netherlands but a vote yesterday
instructed him to withdraw that support.

It called on the country to not only withdraw the vote but to treat it
as an abstention.

A representative of ginger group FFI Netherlands, said: "This political
signal reaches much further than just the Netherlands. We hope that
other European countries...will also withdraw their support, so that the
current proposal no longer has a majority". =B5

L'INQ
NL Minister "misinformed Parliament"

See Also
Fresh Internet "strike" against Euronet patents
--
James Love, Director, Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, mailto:james.love@cptech.org
tel. +1.202.387.8030, mobile +1.202.361.3040