Whether or not you've been keeping up with the struggle for software patents in Europe, there's happy news from that front.

From Tobias Schlitt's weblog:

Strasbourg, 6 July 2005 -- The European Parliament today decided by a large majority of 648 votes to reject the directive "on the patentability of computer implemented inventions", also known as the software patent directive. This rejection was the logical answer to the Commission's refusal to restart the legislative process in February and the Council's unwillingness to take the will of the European Parliament and national parliaments into account. The FFII congratulates the European Parliament on its clear "No" to bad legislative proposals and procedures.

Software patents have been defeated in the European Parliment - meaning that innovation and competitiveness are protected in the software development community. By not having and enforcing software patents, developers are more free to create the software they need and want, and the EPO (European Patent Office) is brought back down away from any detrimental decisions...

Congratulations Europeans! It was a long, hard fight...

Other blogs mentioning the victory:

• Aaron Wormus
• Derick Rethans
• Leendert Brouwer
• NuCleuZ 's blog
• Henri Bergius
• Quoderat's blog