[ffii] June 1st Conference on Patent Policy Making

PRESS RELEASE FFII -- [ Europe / economy / ICT ]

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June 1st Conference on Patent Policy Making
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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!


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Practical details
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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/


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Programme
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Normal quality screen version (670 KB):
   http://swpat.ffii.org/events/2005/bxl0601/program-lores.pdf

High quality downloadable print version (3.5 MB)
   http://swpat.ffii.org/events/2005/bxl0601/program.pdf


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


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Background information
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Conference website and printable programme:
   http://swpat.ffii.org/events/2005/bxl0601/

Computer & Communications Industry Association:
   http://www.ccianet.org

EPO-FFII event (24th May 2005):
   http://wiki.ffii.org/EpoFfiiPr050520En

Permanent link to this press release:
   http://wiki.ffii.org/ConfPr050601En


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Contact information
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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


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