The European Parliament is about to vote for a regulation on the unitary patent, during its plenary session, on December 11th, 2012.
The purported goal to have a single patent covering the whole Union may be praiseworthy. But this regulation, up to its very title, is actually very deceiving. Indeed, its content leaves the European Union (EU) aside in many aspects, leading to a fragmented patent system, which will be untamable by the democratic bodies of the EU. Instead the “patent microcosm” will gain amazing powers, while its governance has been highly criticised, specially with regard to its practice of granting software patents, against the letter and the spirit of European patent law.
You can change this fate by calling Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), urging them to vote for two compromise amendments n° 76 and 74. By doing so, two basic messages can be carried: POWER TO THE PARLIAMENT and NO SOFTWARE PATENTS!
For a complete understanding of Tuesday, December 11th plenary vote, read The Lord of the Unitary Patents: a preview on European Parliament plenary vote. See also, letters from Ericsson, Nokia and BAE asking MEPs to reject the text.