Mag. Othmar Karas MEP and Software Patents
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Othmar Karas is a member of the European Parliamennt for the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) for Salzburg, Economic Affairs Spokesman of both ÖVP and the European People's Party (EPP) as well as vice president of the EPP. Karas has, both during the first reading and during the Council's attempts to pass its position with an unqualified majority in 2004, supported key amendments to the proposed software patent directive and repeatedly criticised attempts by the Council and Commission to ignore these amendments. As one of ÖVP's most popular politicians, Karas has been successfully campaigning for personal votes, a specialty of the Austrian election system.
News & Chronology
2004-12-08 Karas inquiry to the Council for Question Time at the part-session in January 2005
2004-04-00 Karas writes to Minister Bartenstein 2004-04, expresses concern about Council's pro-software-patent line, asks governmental coalition to support EP stance. This helps bring about abstention of Austria in May 2004.
2003-09-24 Karas votes in favor of major changes of EP (score +25, at lower edge of ÖVP, but the very positive score of ÖVP is largely due to opinion leadership by Karas)
Voting behaviour in September 2003
General
- economic policy speaker of ÖVP and EPP in the European Parliament
EVP-ED Vizepräsident --- Mit höchster Stimmenanzahl gewählt --- Klarer Vertrauensbeweis für Karas
- vertritt klare Positionen gegen Softwarepatente, stimmte für die wesentlichen Änderungsanträge des Parlaments
Karas speach in plenary debate of 2003-09-23 clearly against software patents and in support of Kauppi amendments
- early study of the subjects, contacts to patent critics (including FFII)
- signed Kauppi amendments in september 2003, thereby enabled effective limitation of patentability
major counter-weight to Wuermeling line of EPP in 2003
