Above all, it is highly significant that the candidate countries are now to be directly involved in this computer system, i.e. in this new procedure.
We are also preparing a communication to instigate a debate on means of ensuring greater security in the information and knowledge society and in combating computer crime.
We are living in a computer age.
Some experts in the field believe that there is a risk that it will prove impossible for undertakings to adapt their computer systems and software in time.
Not only must it be possible to use different types of technical apparatus in combination with one another, but different computer programs must also be required to understand each other.
Most importantly, we should not harm the average users of computer programs, since this would turn out to be in no one’s interests.
Given that we have witnessed the unprecedented development of computer software over the past decade or so, do we now really need to introduce detailed rules to regulate it?
The directive states this quite explicitly, and it is also prevented by the fact that patent protection for computer-implemented inventions requires a technical contribution.
The promotion of free computer programs is an option increasingly used by public administrations and which democratises access to and the use of public documents and data.
With the new communications technologies, it is possible, with a click on the computer, to conclude contracts worldwide or enter into legal transactions within a very short period of time.