The European Parliament's decision to reject a bill to harmonise software patents in the EU was described as a "grave disappointment" by the Irish Software Association (ISA) yesterday.

The ISA, which is the principal lobby group for Irish software companies, said the parliament had lost a valuable opportunity to further Europe's development as a knowledge economy.

Michele Quinn, director of the ISA, said that if the directive had come into force, it would not have changed the existing patent requirements, but would have made it less expensive and complex for companies to protect their inventions. This was a critical issue for Ireland's indigenous software industry, which employs 15,000 people, he added.

"This decision threatens Europe's competitive advantage as a location in which to develop innovative software over emerging economies such as India and China," he said.

Meanwhile, ICT Ireland, a lobby group representing the wider technology industry, also expressed disappointment at the rejection of a common EU position on the Computer Implemented Inventions Directive.

But ICT Ireland also indicated that while the adoption of the common position would have been ideal, no legislation is better than legislation that would have damaged Ireland's competitiveness.

"There were several unhelpful amendments proposed to the common position, which sought to alter patent law as it currently stands," said Kathryn Raleigh, director, ICT Ireland.

"We welcome the decision of the MEPs to reject these amendments. What we are left with is the status quo and a clean canvas on which to work in future."

Both Irish lobby groups include big software firms such as Microsoft and Symantec and smaller, indigenous firms among their membership.