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Free Software Foundation Europe: No software patents in Europe, requests EPO review instrument
by Free Software Foundation Europe 06 Jul '05

06 Jul '05

Free Software Foundation Europe: No software patents in Europe, requests EPO review instrument After years of struggle, the European Parliament finally rejected the software patent directive with 648 of 680 votes: A strong signal against patents on software logic, a sign of lost faith in the European Union and a clear request for the European Patent Office (EPO) to change its policy: the EPO must stop issuing software patents today. "This outcome does not affect patents on high-tech inventions in any way," explains Stefano Maffulli, Italian representative of FSFE: "High-tech innovation has always been patentable, and even if the directive had been passed with all proposed amendmends, it would have remained patentable. It is important to point this out because the proponents of software logic patents have tried to confuse people about high-tech inventions being subject of this directive." FSFE's president, Georg Greve adds: "The parliament understood this when it amended the directive in the first reading to keep high-tech innovation inside and software outside the patent system." "Unfortunately, the council of the European Union ignored this decision of the Parliament and removed those amendments. Many MEPs were appalled at this obvious corruption of democratic process that day and seem to have lost faith in seeing their amendments treated with more respect this time." "Rejection of the directive became the very last option to send a clear and strong signal against software patents in Europe," Greve continues. "The Free Software Foundation Europe commends the European Parliament on this decision: in the interest of harmonisation we would have preferred a directive along the lines of the first reading, but we understand that rejection became the last realistic option to avoid doing irreparable harm to European economy." Jonas Öberg, vice-president of FSFE: "This reaffirms the 1973 European Patent Convention (EPC), which excludes software from patentability. The European Patent Office (EPO) has largely ignored this central convention and granted approximately 30.000 software patents in the past years: this must stop today! The EPO should not be allowed to further ignore European policies!" Georg Greve explains the proposal of FSFE: "Much trouble was caused by the inability of the European Union to hold the European Patent Office responsible for acting against agreed-upon policies: unlike other parts of a democratic executive, the EPO is not liable for the decision it takes. We propose to establish an EPO supervision instrument that holds the EPO management liable for its decisions and prevents further patent system degradation." About the Free Software Foundation Europe: The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a charitable non-governmental organisation dedicated to all aspects of Free Software in Europe. Access to software determines who may participate in a digital society. Therefore the Freedoms to use, copy, modify and redistribute software - as described in the Free Software definition- allow equal participation in the information age. Creating awareness for these issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE. The FSFE was founded in 2001 as the European sister organisation of the Free Software Foundation in the United States. Further information: http://www.fsfeurope.org

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Licensing question (GPL or LGPL)
by Sam Roig 05 Jul '05

05 Jul '05

I have a small (big?) question about mixing licenses within a project. We'd like to distribute the project as LGPL or, in its defect, as GPL. The project consists of a PD external built with the flext library (the only GPL license of the lot). We want to release a C++ API and, separately, the PD external. The libraries we're using (for the API) are the following: LibcURL – http://curl.haxx.se/ (MIT) TinyXML – http://sourceforge.net/projects/tinyxml (ZLIB) LibSnd - http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/ (LGPL) As said before, the PD external uses flext (flext - http://grrrr.org/ext/flext/, GPL) and the above-mentioned API. Can we release the API as LGPL? What licenses would be possible for the external? Thanks in advance, :::sam:::

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Licensing question (GPL or LGPL)
by Sam 05 Jul '05

05 Jul '05

I have a small (big?) question about mixing licenses within a project. We'd like to distribute the project as LGPL or, in its defect, as GPL. The project consists of a PD external built with the flext library (the only GPL license of the lot). We want to release a C++ API and, separately, the PD external. The libraries we're using (for the API) are the following: LibcURL http://curl.haxx.se/ (MIT) TinyXML http://sourceforge.net/projects/tinyxml (ZLIB) LibSnd - http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/ (LGPL) As said before, the PD external uses flext (flext - http://grrrr.org/ext/flext/, GPL) and the above-mentioned API. Can we release the API as LGPL? What licenses would be possible for the external? Thanks in advance, :::sam:::

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And the Fellowship PDA goes to...
by Georg C. F. Greve 25 Jun '05

25 Jun '05

Dear all, Greetings from the GNU/LinuxTag 2005 in Karlsruhe, Germany. In the presence of some Fellows and other FSFE people, Karin Kosina From Austria just conducted the draw for the Sharp SL-C1000 sponsored by Werner Heuser from xtops.de. And the lucky winner is: Giovanni Angoli. We all congratulate Giovanni on his new PDA and wish him great fun with it. Many thanks to him an all others who support our work by being part of the Fellowship! Best regards, Georg Greve P.S. If you also wish to add your support and contribution to FSFE's work, you can sign-up online at https://www.fsfe.org/join_us -- Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org> Free Software Foundation Europe (http://fsfeurope.org) Join the Fellowship and protect your freedom! (http://www.fsfe.org)

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Karten's WIPO Blog
by Matthias Kirschner 21 Jun '05

21 Jun '05

You might be interested in reading Karsten's blog about WIPO's intercessional intergovernmental meeting: http://www.fsfe.org/Members/gerloff/blog/ Best wishes, Matze -- Join the Fellowship and protect your freedom! (http://www.fsfe.org)

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Licensing help in France
by Jeremiah Foster 17 Jun '05

17 Jun '05

Hello, I am including an email from the Fedora users mailing list regarding licensing issues with the GPL. I felt the original poster would get more help here than from the other list where the danger of innaccurate information is somewhat higher. Regards, Jeremiah OP follows - ___ Hi all I am asking this list for advise since I don't know where to get help on this issue. I tried mailing the Free Software Foundation but they haven't answered my mail. So I am making a product, that was originally meant to be distributed as GPL. Now the buyer asks me to release it under a comercial license. Here's the catch: One module of the product uses LGPL'ed code, and the icons used in the product are GPL as well. Would it be possible for me to make a comercial license that says: License for 'module X', and 'icons': GPL License for the total product: not free. Does anyone has experience with this or know where to turn to for these kind of questions? With kind regards Andy

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Join the Fellowship and win a PDA
by Georg C. F. Greve 12 Jun '05

12 Jun '05

Hi all, it seems that this bit of news somewhat disappeared under the flurry of news of the past weeks about possible internships [1], software patents [2] and the Microsoft case [3]: At the last day of this years' GNU/LinuxTag in Karlsruhe, a Sharp SL-C1000 with 416MHz processor, 4MB RAM and 128MB Flash memory sponsored by Xtops.de will be raffled among all fully activated Fellows. More information (and pictures) are for instance online at http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2445 The full news about the FSFE Fellowship-tombola is online at http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2005q2/000106.html It were a pity if that information did not become widely known: A great initiative by Werner Heuser of Xtops.de and a good occasion to join the Fellowship. So if you can spread the word, please do. News postings on web sites would also be great. Regards, Georg [1] http://www.germany.fsfeurope.org/contribute/internship.en.html [2] http://www.germany.fsfeurope.org/projects/swpat/letter-20050606.en.html [3] http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2005q2/000105.html -- Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org> Free Software Foundation Europe (http://fsfeurope.org) Join the Fellowship and protect your freedom! (http://www.fsfe.org)

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WIPO solicits feedback on "IP in the Information Society"
by Tristan Miller 11 Jun '05

11 Jun '05

Greetings. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is hosting an online discussion on "Intellectual Property in the Information Society" until 15 June 2005 <http://www.wipo.int/ipisforum/en/>. The conclusions of the online forum will form part of WIPO's contribution to the WSIS Tunis Summit. There are 10 different themes for discussion: 1) The WSIS Declaration of Principles sets out a vision for the information society – how can the intellectual property system support this vision? 2) The intellectual property system and freedom of expression and creativity: Help or hindrance? 3) The public domain and open access models of information creation: at odds with the intellectual property system or enabled by it? 4) What is the impact of copyright law, both at international and national levels, on education and research? 5) What are the rights and responsibilities of intellectual property rightsholders? 6) Global partnerships to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals: what role for intellectual property? 7) How is intellectual property policy made for the information society: and who makes it? 8) How can cultural and intellectual diversity of traditional communities be respected in the information society? 9) Emerging business models for distributing intellectual property online: opportunity or threat? 10) What are the challenges for enforcement of intellectual property rights in the digital environment? Regards, Tristan -- _ _V.-o Tristan Miller [en,(fr,de,ia)] >< Space is limited / |`-' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= <> In a haiku, so it's hard (7_\\ http://www.nothingisreal.com/ >< To finish what you

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FSF Europe Newsletter
by Free Software Foundation Europe 07 Jun '05

07 Jun '05

1. General Assembly in Vienna, Austria 2. Access to Knowledge (A2K) meeting in London, UK 3. Romanian discussion mailing lists 4. LinuxWorldExpo in Milano, Italy 5. Linuxwochen Wien, Vienna, Austria 6. Software patent conference in Udine, Italy 7. Alessandro Rubini in Bologna 8. FSFE very active in Brussels 9. Freedom Party in Berne, Switzerland 10. FSFE looks for new intern 1. General Assembly in Vienna, Austria On 7th May 2005, the general assembly of FSFE met in Vienna, Austria to review the activities of the past year and plan ahead for the next year to come. As this was the end of the second electoral period for FSFE's extended executive committee, the executive committee presented another two-year executive summary. The general assembly thanked its executives for their excellent work of the past two years and unanimously reelected the entire extended executive committee. http://www.fsfeurope.org/documents/reports/es-2005.en.html 2. Access to Knowledge (A2K) meeting in London, UK The A2K initiative has its background in the ongoing debate of a reform of the UN World Intellectual Property Organisation. On 12th and 13th of May, representatives of various civil society initiatives, universities and governments as well as independent activists met to discuss a possible treaty on "Access to Knowledge" to be proposed on United Nations level. Georg Greve took part in the meeting for FSFE and provided input on issues such as Free Software, software patents and open standards. He also chaired the session on Authors and Performers. The A2K treaty would be an important milestone to truly transform WIPO into a "World Intellectual Wealth Organisation." http://www.fsfeurope.org/documents/wiwo.en.html 3. Romanian discussion mailing lists After he translated several pages of the FSFE website to Romanian, Adi Roiban volunteered to manage a Romanian speaking discussion mailing list about Free Software topics (fsfe-ro at fsfeurope.org) and one about Free Software in education in Romania (edu-ro at fsfeurope.org). The FSFE happily hosts these lists, along with several other mailing lists on Free Software topics. http://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo 4. LinuxWorldExpo in Milano, Italy Most people of the Italian team were present at the LinuxWorldExpo in Milano. Stefano Maffulli held a speech about the Fellowship and participated in a round table discussion about open standards and free software. Alessandro Rubini spoke about documentation and licensing issues in free software development; he also served as chairman of the "Linux for embedded devices" session. Emmanuele Somma of the Italian team spoke about free software adoption in financial institutions, and Free Ekanayaka presented the Agnula project. Thanks to the work of the Italian team and volunteers, the highest amount ever of donations from an Italian event was achieved. 5. Linuxwochen Wien, Vienna, Austria Linuxwochen Wien (Linux weeks Vienna), Austria's biggest Free Software event, took place from 24 to 27 May. Karin Kosina opened the event with a keynote on 24 May and held a speech about the importance of the term "Free Software" on May 26th. On 25 May, Georg Greve gave the keynote for the "B2B and public administrations" day. Both also took part in several panel discussions. 6. Software patent conference in Udine, Italy Italian team members Stefano Maffulli, Alessandro Rubini and Fabrizio Veutro participated as speakers in a conference about software patents organised by the Udine University. University staff members organised this event to counter ongoing efforts to push for unlimited patenting during University activities. 7. Alessandro Rubini in Bologna On 20 May, Alessandro Rubini talked in Bologna, in a lesson organised by Prof. Renzo Davoli within the "Master in Tecnologia del Software Libero e Open Source", about the economic models of Free Software development. 8. FSFE very active in Brussels Ciaran O'Riordan, FSFE's full-time representative in Brussels, is still working closely with the FFII on the software patent issue. He met several members of the European Parliament and had good contacts with the press, for example the German magazine Spiegel and the Wall Street Journal Europe. He also organised a Freedom Party on 2 June in Brussels where Fellows of FSFE and other friends of Free Software could meet and celebrate digital freedom together. 9. Freedom Party in Berne, Switzerland FSFE's associated organisation Wilhelm Tux organised the first Swiss Freedom Party in Berne on 21 May. The party, although small, gathered some 25 people from all over Switzerland. Myriam Schweingruber, president of Wilhelm Tux, explained the work of FSFE and presented the Fellowship and its CryptoCard. Alex Schroeder, vice-president, recalled the importance for the Swiss, although not in the EU, to collaborate actively with the FSF Europe on such important issues as software patents, proprietary software monopolies and more. 10. FSFE looks for new intern FSFE intern Karsten Gerloff has just entered the last month of his internship. His work consists of handling most of FSFE's office tasks, promoting the Fellowship and assisting Georg Greve in the Hamburg office, as well as sometimes on his travels. The FSFE is looking for someone to succeed him as soon as possible. http://www.fsfeurope.org/contribute/internship.en.html You can find a list of all FSF Europe newsletters on http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html

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FSFE in Vienna
by MJ Ray 04 Jun '05

04 Jun '05

There's an interesting report about a World Summit on the Info Society contributory conference in Vienna with a nice mention for the hard work being done by FSFE. Read it at http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/753.htm -- MJ Ray (slef), K. Lynn, England, email see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/

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