Freedom of Publication

Information related rights have become increasingly important and need reaffirmation.

Patent rights are broad and unsuited for limiting a basic right such as the right of publication. By affirming the precedence of freedomof publication over patent rights, we do not limit patentability but rather limit the ways in which patents can be enforced.

((122 123 141 143) ++ Kudrycka, Zwiefka; Bertinotti; Kauppi; Ortega)

(134 + Szeijna)

(135 + Lichtenberger, Frassoni)

Amendment 122

submitted by:

Barbara Kudrycka, Tadeusz Zwiefka

provision:

art 5 par 1 a nov

language:

English

topic:

Freedom of Publication

recommendation:

++

amendment
	Member States shall ensure that the distribution and publication of information, in whatever form, can never constitute direct or indirect infringement of a patent.
justification
Freedom of publication, as stipulated in Art 10 ECHR, can be limited by copyright but not by patents. Patent rights are broad and unsuited for information goods. This amendment does not make any patents invalid, rather it limits the ways in which a patent owner can enforce his patents. Such a provision should be complemented by other provisions which make sure that information patents are not granted in the first place. This amendment is a simplified and reduced version of article 7 paragraph 3 in the consolidated text of the EP’s first reading.

Critique

affirms right of publication as a limit to patent rights.

Amendment 123

submitted by:

Fausto Bertinotti

provision:

art 5 par 1 a nov

language:

English

topic:

Freedom of Publication

recommendation:

++

amendment
	Member States shall ensure that the distribution and publication of information, in whatever form, can never constitute direct or indirect infringement of a patent.
justification
Freedom of publication, as stipulated in Art 10 ECHR, can be limited by copyright but not by patents. Patent rights are broad and unsuited for information goods. This amendment does not make any patents invalid, rather it limits the ways in which a patent owner can enforce his patents. Such a provision should be complemented by other provisions which make sure that information patents are not granted in the first place. This amendment is a simplified and reduced version of article 7 paragraph 3 in the consolidated text of the EP’s first reading.

Critique

affirms right of publication as a limit to patent rights.

Amendment 134

submitted by:

Andrzej Jan Szejna

provision:

art 5 par 2 a nov

language:

Polish

topic:

Freedom of Publication

recommendation:

+

amendment
	Member States shall ensure that the production, processing, dissemination and publication of information in any form cannot be the basis of direct or indirect breach of patent law, even if patented technical apparatus is used to this end.
justification
Restricting the exchange of information could impede the development of fundamental research.

Critique

makes it clear that publication is not an infringment. The mentioning of the possibility that a patented apparatus could be used for dissemination complicates the matter unnecessarily.

Amendment 135

submitted by:

Evelin Lichtenberger, Monica Frassoni

provision:

art 5 par 2 a nov

language:

English

topic:

Freedom of Publication

recommendation:

+

amendment
	Member States shall ensure that the production, handling, processing, distribution and publication of information in any form can never constitute a patent infringement, either direct or indirect, even if a technical device is used for this purpose
justification
This is 1st reading article 7.3 ; it aims at ensuring freedom of information.

Critique

clearly states the precedence of freedom of publication over patent rights.

Amendment 141

submitted by:

Piia-Noora Kauppi

provision:

art 5 a nov

language:

English

topic:

Freedom of Publication

recommendation:

++

amendment
	Member States shall ensure that the distribution and publication of information, in whatever form, can never constitute direct or indirect infringement of a patent.
justification
Freedom of publication, as stipulated in Art 10 ECHR, can be limited by copyright but not by patents. Patent rights are broad and unsuited for information goods. This amendment does not make any patents invalid, rather it limits the ways in which a patent owner can enforce his patents. Such a provision should be complemented by other provisions which make sure that information patents are not granted in the first place. This amendment is a simplified and reduced version of article 7 paragraph 3 in the consolidated text of the EP’s first reading.

Critique

affirms right of publication as a limit to patent rights.

Amendment 143

submitted by:

Manuel Medina Ortega

provision:

art 5 bis nov

topic:

Freedom of Publication

recommendation:

++

amendment
	Los Estados miembros garantizarán que la distribución y publicación de información, cualquiera que sea la forma, nunca constituya una violación directa o indirecta de una patente.
justification
Los términos de "distribución" y "publicación" tienen más en cuenta los casos de demandas de patentes para métodos comerciales (de hecho el tratamiento de la información) que existen en los Estados Unidos y que no deberían existir en la Unión Europea. Esta enmienda corresponde a una versión más restrictiva del artículo 7 párrafo 3 en el texto consolidado de la primera lectura del PE con el objetivo de alcanzar un compromiso con el Consejo.

Critique

affirms right of publication as a limit to patent rights.