Europe's Patent Failure?

When Andy Reinhardt of BusinessWeek offers his analysis of the failed European Directive on Computer-Implemented Inventions ("Europe's Patent on Failure," July 13, 2005), he sees special interests' sabotage of good intentions, philosophical objections leading to vague and contradictory amendments, a broad brush approach where confusion triumphed, and no gain whatsoever for the EU:

"The outcome in Europe entrenches a system that, like many national laws on
the Continent, is increasingly out of step with global realities. The people who
killed smart patent rules may have had noble intentions. But instead of scoring
a hit for the little guy, they've actually put their compatriots at a
disadvantage on the global stage. That hardly looks like progress."

On the other hand, the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) welcomed the outcome:

"This is a great victory for those who have campaigned to ensure that European innovation and competitiveness is protected from monopolisation of software functionalities and business methods. It marks the end of an attempt by the European Commission and governmental patent officials to impose detrimental and legally questionable practises of the European Patent Office (EPO) on the member states."