News of 2001	EC presses for Community Patent	German Gov't publishes an ambivalent study	EC Consensus on Directive?	New Guidelines	Patented WWW Standards	Hague Convention	Swpat Article	WIPO treaty prosal to make patent inflation irreversible

EU Laeken 2001-12-20: summit confirms patent faith

The politicians at the european summit in Laeken confirmed their belief in the key role of the community patent for innovation and growth in Europe. They want to start another attempt on Dec 20th in order to realise the CP this year. The counter-arguments of the Eurolinux Alliance are meanwhile enjoying well-informed support, which however do not seem to have reached the patent politicians' negotiating rooms. Software patents were not an issue in Laeken, but according to current rumors, the Commissions' directorates are working together on a laxist directive which will legalise the current illegal practise of the European Patent Office and replace the current clear limits on patentability by empty words. The final negotiations about exactly which empty words to use are expected to yield results by january.

2001-12-20: Interior Market Council preparing Community Patent: This session brought no breakthrough but displayed the participants' orientation toward a centralised patent system with supra national jurisdiction, low translation requirements and without any reform of patent inflation.
comment on Laeken summit
Eurolinux Position on the Community Patent: European patent politicians tend to portray the Community Patent project as a key to progress and prosperity in Europe. The innovativity of our economy, according to this view, seems to be a largely function of cheap availability and uniform enforcability of patents throughout the European Interior Market. The Eurolinux Alliance believes that the Community Patent according to current plans would stifle innovation and harm European citizens. Instead it must not be built as an extension to the current system maintained by the European Patent Office, but as a new lean, decentral, unbureaucratic foundation in the spirit of the Polluter Pays Principle. The Eurolinux position statement comes with an online signature guestbook.