Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

Somebody else must have said it then. Legislation relating to intellectual property is vital to the economy and to our place in the international community. Many people know little about patents as the area is highly technical. We should try to disseminate knowledge about the process. People should be aware of how important the process is and how to apply for a patent and should be informed of the costs involved and the help available to them — from Enterprise Ireland and others — when making patent applications. While some things can be patented, others cannot. There is currently much controversy about patenting the human gene and mapping the human gene sequence. Perhaps we should return to this controversial area if other Members do not cover it.

I welcome the Bill as it brings us into line with the international community. We should disseminate more information on patenting and copyright and introduce the topic in schools to inform people of what is involved. It is expensive and time consuming to patent an item. Much work is involved in investigating the novelty of an invention and if a person is not careful, an invention can be stolen by another person. If a person makes his or her invention known prior to patenting, he or she will lose the right to patent it. Patenting is a complex, technical, legal and expensive business. Large companies wishing to patent an item have the substantial resources required to do so.

Deputy Stanton asked in the Dáil about inventors who work from garden sheds where many inventions and businesses began. For example, Bill Gates started his business in a shed. We must encourage such people and inform them that support is available and accessible. Enterprise Ireland is doing a great deal in this area, but complaints have been made by the Inventors' Association of Ireland and others. I hope their issues have been addressed. Perhaps the Minister will monitor the situation. An Irish Bill Gates could be working on an invention in a garden shed. Therefore, education and dissemination of information on the patent process are vital.

The decentralisation of the Patents Office is laudable, but the Government must be careful when moving specialised staff. Were all of them willing to move or was some expertise lost? Such considerations must be taken into account. How has the office operated since decentralisation?

Fine Gael has been vocal on the issue of patents in the European Parliament. In July 2005, the European Parliament rejected proposals to create a Europe-wide patent for computer implemented inventions. Speaking in the debate, Deputy Coveney MEP, stressed that the patents directive does not propose the introduction of a new patents system for the European Union, but harmonises and brings consistency to patent offices throughout the different member states. The current situation of 25 national patent offices with no consistent approach does not contribute to an integrated and functional common market.

The software and information technology industries in the EU have thrived under the current position. Why do we need a common approach? SMEs in particular seem to be split on this issue. Some people have decided to create the impression that this issue pitches the large multinationals against SMEs, but the latter fall on both sides of the argument. Some want to protect their ideas and inventions and others fear a patents minefield due to the proposed common position. Nobody in the European Parliament wants to vote for a situation that will harm the future of SMEs.

The two key issues in the directive were the definition of what it proposed to allow patents on and interoperability. We are not talking about the patenting of software as in the US. On interoperability, we must ensure the equipment or networks required by multiple users to allow innovation are not withheld from the market. In particular, this is the case for the open source movement, which has been successful in recent years. Unfortunately, that rejection of the proposal showed a serious failure of the institutions to find common ground and agreement on what is an important area for the European economy generally. It is disappointing that the Bill has taken so long to pass through the Oireachtas, but I wish it a speedy passage through the remaining Stages in the House.