June 1st Conference on Patent Policy Making

By FFII | May 23, 2005

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)

http://demo.ffii.org/bxl0506/

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