The EU Council has approved a controversial proposal on software patents, despite opposition from software developers, businesses and some European countries.
The European Council adopted the software patent directive on Monday, despite requests from Denmark, Poland and Portugal to reject the directive. An EU Council representative said Monday morning that the computer-implemented inventions directive had been adopted but was unable to give more details. As it now stands, the directive would legalize software patents. Supporters say the directive would protect research and development investments by European companies. Opponents say it would stifle innovation.