EU Council to Approve Software Patentability Directive

EWeek is reporting that "The EU's controversial proposal on patenting "computer-implemented inventions" has unexpectedly cleared a major hurdle, with the Council of the European Union set to give its approval early [this] week, officials have confirmed. At a Council meeting early [this] week, the text will be adopted as the Common Position," said Dr. Jeremy Philpott, a spokesperson for the U.K. Patent Office. "It will be adopted or it will fall off the agenda. There is no opportunity to debate it—the substantive debate happened back in May."

For more information, see the IP::Jur Blog with, among other things, links to Document 14574/04 of the General Secretariat asking COREPER to recommend that the EU Council adopt the common position in 11979/04 with the statement of reasons in 11979/04 ADD 1.