Simon Taylor

The European Union (E.U.) has taken a step closer to agreeing on controversial new legislation that could make it easier for technology companies to patent their inventions in Europe. The development came as a blow to critics of the proposed law, who argue that it could drive small software developers out of the market.

Opponents of controversial legislation which would allow software to be patented across the European Union (E.U.) have received a double blow this week.

The European Union

Thirty-eight European Union (E.U.) and Asian countries have pledged to work together to combat spam, the European Commission announced Thursday.

Opponents of plans to introduce software patents in the European Union (E.U.) won a major victory Thursday when the European Parliament demanded a restart to the decision-making process. Leaders of the Parliament

The European Commission has ordered two German mobile network operators to explain why they apparently overcharged mobile phone users visiting Germany, it announced last week. If the operators fail to convince the Commission that their charges were justified they could face fines of up to hundreds of millions of euros.

Ministers from European Union (E.U.) governments are planning to push ahead with controversial legislation that would open the door for software to be patented, despite a request by members of the European Parliament to restart the legal process for the proposed law.

The European Commission is calling for telecommunications operators to provide leased lines to retail service suppliers within a fixed deadline or face financial penalties. The move is designed to deal with delays faced by new operators in some member states, where receiving leased lines can take over seven times longer than in other states.