Karlsruhe Memorandum on Softwarepatentability needs your signature!
Georg Greve, president of Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) asks
"everyone to sign up to the Karlsruhe Memorandum on software
patentability [1]: preserve your freedom to be creative!" Started last
Saturday during GNU/Linuxtag in Karlsruhe, Germany the memorandum was
signed by more than 200 people and 26 companies - among them Katja
Husen, from the federal board of the German Green Party, Christa Dahme,
federal board member of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB),
Dr. Wolfgang Kowalsky, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and
Annette Mühlberg, Head of eGovernment, ver.di - United Services
Union-Headquarters, Berlin.
FSFE's goal: urge MEPs to once more make the necessary amendments to
turn the European software patent directive "into a directive that
allows patents on computer-aided inventions, but clearly prevents
software patenting."
As the memorandum highlights, patents on software are among the worst
threats to knowledge-based economies, because they "make computers less
secure, less reliable and prevent competition on a basic level. Lack of
competition and uncalculable legal risks raise the cost of ICT and cost
jobs wherever the economy depends upon them."
According to the Free Software Foundation Europe "the most essential
discoveries in the field of ICT were successful because they were not
patented, for instance the invention of the World Wide Web by Tim
Berners-Lee. If software patents are enacted, the world will never know
which discovery could have been the next World Wide Web."
The European "centre of expertise for Free Software" cites a number of
international scientific studies supporting its arguments: the German
Monopolkommission, [2] which regularly reports about dangers to
competition to the Federal Government of Germany; the Massachussetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) [3]; the Boston University School of Law
[4]; Deutsche Bank Research [5]; Price Waterhouse Coopers [6]; and the
US Federal Trade Commission [7].
1 http://fsfeurope.org/projects/swpat/memorandum.en.html
2 http://swpat.ffii.org/archiv/zitate/index.de.html#mopoko0207
3 http://www.researchoninnovation.org/patent.pdf
4 http://www.researchoninnovation.org/swpat.pdf
5
http://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_EN-PROD/PROD0000000000175949.pdf
6
http://www.pwc.com/Extweb/pwcpublications.nsf/docid/EC6DE73A846581CE80256EF…
7 http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/10/innovationrpt.pdf
FSFE: Raffle of handheld computer with GNU/Linux to a lucky Fellow
Xtops.DE and Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) to offer SL-C1000
handheld computer with GNU/Linux to a lucky Fellow.
Berlin based mail order company Xtops.DE has become what FSFE hopes is
the first of many hardware vendors to support FSFE's Fellowship program
by offering a hardware prize to reward those who join.
The SL-C1000 up for grabs runs GNU/Linux on a 416MHz processor, with
64MB RAM and 128MB of Flash memory for the Free Software you want, and
has a 3.7-inch full colour screen and QWERTY keyboard for easy use.
The lucky fellow will be chosen at random at 14h00 on June 25th from all
Fellows whose contribution has been received before that date. The draw
will take place at GNU/LinuxTag in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Xtops.DE manager Werner Heuser comments: "We are happy to help FSFE to
come up with its fellowship. As we are part of the Free Software
community, we want to make a contribution where we know it will make a
difference. Being the first is nice too, we get to be trend setters
here."
President of FSFE, Georg Greve, adds: "Offering one of our supporters
this cool hardware running GNU/Linux is great. As well as encouraging
people to sign up to the Fellowship, we get to show that Free Software
can operate state-of-the-art handheld computers. This has been true
for a long time, but not everyone knows it."
Greve continues, "We're greatful to Xtops.DE for their pro-active
support. 300 Fellows have already signed up and paid their dues, and
we've only started. We are also condidering talking to to companies
that benefit from software freedom, to discuss having them finance
Fellowship membership for their employees. For this, the OpenPGP
compatible smartcard that all Fellows receive might prove to be a
valuable incentive. Organised by Werner Koch, the main author of GNU
Privacy Guard, these smartcards make encryption convenient and even
harder to circumvent, so people can make their data secure."
For people wanting more specifics about the SL-C1000, it has an XScale
PXA270 416 MHz processor, 64 MB SDRAM + 128 MB Flash, 3.7-inch 640x480
screen with 64k colours, headphones and microphone socket, IrDA 1.2,
USB, mini QWERTY Keyboard, CF Card Slot Typ II, SD/MMC Card Slot,
Lithium-Ion battery, and 100-240V Power-Adapter. It measures 4.9 x
3.4 x 1 inches (124 x 87 x 25mm) and weighs 10 oz (278 grams).
Of course, when people see that FSFE is involved, they can be sure
that the software on the device respects their freedom.
Instructions for becoming a Fellow, and more information about the
goodies available to Fellows, can be found at the Fellowship website:
http://fsfe.org/
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
FSFE: "Microsoft abuses the good will of Ms. Kroes" - "European
Commission is about to enter legal house-to-house fighting!"
"The grammar of human language, the railway track width and the radio
frequency of the telephony system have something in common", Georg
Greve, president of Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) says:
"These conventions are supposed to make co-operation and interaction
between human beings and technical equipment possible. Conventions
can never be 'inventions'!"
In software, this does not seem to be so obvious to everyone: The
European Commission published a press release yesterday regarding
new proposals from Microsoft in the pending antitrust suit in which
FSF Europe is participating as a third party, also representing the
Samba Project.
According to this release, Microsoft wants to ban software developers
from publishing Free Software on the basis of the interface
information requested. This information is needed for Windows and
GNU/Linux-based computers to interoperate in a company network.
"The proposal specifically precludes the information from being used
in a Free Software implementation, such as the Samba workgroup server
software. As Samba is the only remaining major competitor of Microsoft
in this market, the Microsoft proposal translates to: Of course we
will give you the specifications - unless you happen to be a serious
competitor of ours, that is," explains Greve. "The European Court
decided in December 2004 that Microsoft is to publish this information
immediately. This proposal, if accepted, will effectively revert the
court decision for the most serious competitor of Microsoft in this
market."
Regarding publication of the specifications, the commission concludes
"This should be possible for the protocols that do not embody
innovations."
"By accepting the notion that some protocols may be considered
innovation, the European Commission opened a pandora's box of legal
house-to-house fighting: Microsoft will declare all the protocols
as innovative and will defend them for as long as they can. Its
would-be competitors and the Commission on the other hand will never
be able to compete with Microsoft's army of several hundreds
lawyers", Greve explains in a press release of FSFE.
He concludes: "We therefore recommend to not be misled by the incorrect
notion of applying the label of inventions to mere conventions -- and
decide about the new fine. It is very clear to us that Microsoft is
trying to drag its feet as long as they can. This way they are abusing
the good will of Ms. Kroes at the expense of European citizens and the
economy."
"We are keeping our engagement to ensure our best support to the
Commission in this litigation, even under these circumstances and
without any real achievement on the implementation of the measures.
However, I am still confident that our views will prevail, as I have
been personally reassured that the Commission takes our position in very
high regard" closes Carlo Piana, who is representing the FSFE towards
the European Court.
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
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
1. Henrik Sandklef becomes a member of the FSFE association
2. Fellowship a big success
3. Karsten Gerloff begins internship with FSFE
4. Freedom Party in Berlin
5. Free Software Workshop in Damascus
6. Conference on Free Software in Istanbul
7. Free Software Conference in Sarajevo
8. Linuxforum in Copenhagen
9. Microsoft trial getting increased public attention
10. Georg Greve visits FSF in Boston
1. Henrik Sandklef becomes a member of the FSFE association
Henrik Sandklef, who has been a member of the Swedish FSFE team for
several years, has now become an official member of the association.
This will strengthen the FSFE in Sweden politically and operationally.
http://www.fsfeurope.org/about/members.en.html
2. Fellowship a big success
The Fellowship of FSFE, officially announced on 28 February 2005, has
already become a huge success. More than 300 people already registered
within the first month, and more than 180 of them have activated their
@fsfe.org email address, blogging on https://www.fsfe.org, and are
looking forward to their personalised crypto cards, which are being
prepared right now. If you have not yet signed up to protect your
freedom, please do!
https://www.fsfe.org/
3. Karsten Gerloff begins internship with FSFE
After the experience with FSFE's first intern Matthias Kirschner was
so positive, FSFE is more than happy to have found Karsten Gerloff to
continue this work. Karsten is studying Applied Cultural Sciences at
the University of Lüneburg and is working closely with Georg Greve in
Hamburg. The focus of his activities is the Fellowship. If you want to
know how he is doing, you can check out his blog.
https://www.fsfe.org/Members/gerloff/blog/
4. Freedom Party in Berlin
At the Freedom Party in Berlin, Fellows and interested users got
together to celebrate the launch of the Fellowship. At the invitation
of the FSFE and the Newthinking Network, about eighty guests exchanged
inside knowledge on Free Software, watched a demonstration of the
cryptocard, and had a good time.
https://www.fsfe.org/news/party2
5. Free Software Workshop in Damascus
Karin Kosina and Jonas Öberg gave talks at the Free Software Workshop
in Damascus, Syria. Karin spoke about the economic aspects of Free
Software and Jonas talked about formal education on Free Software on
a university level. This was an interesting opportunity to get into
contact with the Free Software community in the Middle East, and we
are happy to see the the global Free Software network getting stronger
all the time.
6. Conference on Free Software in Istanbul
A conference on Free Software was held at Istanbul Bilgi University,
having the focus on the opportunities Free Software offers for the
Turkish economy. Georg Greve and Matthias Kirschner had very
interesting discussions with local Free Software activists and Georg
Greve spoke on commercial, practical and sociological aspects of Free
Software and the GNU Project.
7. Free Software Conference in Sarajevo
Alessandro Rubini has been at the Engineering Faculty in Sarajevo,
Bosnia, where he held a conference about "Free Software in a Free
Society". During his staying at the University, in an activity
sponsored by "Fondazione Willy Brandt", based in Rome, he managed
to build the initial ties with relevant user-group members and some
faculty staff that may help in setting up a local FSFE chapter in the
future.
8. Linuxforum in Copenhagen
LinuxForum 2005 was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The FSF Europe was
represented by Henrik Sandklef, together with the Danish organisation
IT-Politisk Forening that is working for information freedom in
Denmark.
9. Microsoft trial getting increased public attention
After it became apparent that Microsoft continued trying to drag its
feet on the December 2004 decision of the European Court, FSFE and the
Samba Team have now decided to take the initiative and present the
European Commission with the exact terms to set for Microsoft in order
to implement the EC antitrust decision. This created a very strong and
positive media echo for Free Software in many major publications, such
as the Wall Street Journal.
http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2005q1/000097.html
10. Georg Greve visits FSF in Boston
March was also the month during which Georg Greve took the time to
visit FSFE's sister organisation, the Free Software Foundation in the
United States and spend some time with its employees and directors.
He also participated again in FSF's yearly Associate Member Meeting,
where he kept the people supporting FSF in the United States informed
about what is going on in Europe.
You can find a list of all FSF Europe newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html
Open letter to Mr Provoost of the European Information &
Communications Technology Industry Association (EICTA)
which combines 32 national ICT/CE associations
from 24 European countries with 48 direct company
members. EICTA altogether represents more than 10.000
enterprises in Europe with more than 2 million employees and
revenues of over 200 billion. The Association supports the
monopolisation of software ideas heavily. Mr Provoost is
president of Eicta and represents Philips Consumer Electronics
as Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer.
Dear Mr. Provoost,
The European Council and European Commission are pushing for the
introduction of software patents in Europe to such an extent and in such
ways that they raise justified doubts in the democratic roots of Europe.
Your association, the European Information & Communications Technology
Industry Association (EICTA) has strongly supported this agenda in the
past. In the discussion, you raised the argument that "We must be
allowed to protect out innovations."
This statement we fully agree with. However, if you believe that
software patents help protect innovation, it seems you were being
misinformed, as the role of software patents is not to protect, but to
prevent innovation. Bill Gates pointed this out in an internal Microsoft
memo in 1991:
"If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of
today's ideas were invented and had taken out patents, the industry
would be at a complete stand-still today."
He said this because he understood that patents on software inevitably
are monopolies on abstract logic and ideas.
If Pythagoras was to come up with his theorem today, in a software
patent regime he would clearly be entitled to get a monopoly on
it. Pythagoras could then arbitrarily select the conditions under
which others could make use of or build upon his idea.
Software usually embodies literally thousands of abstract ideas. Under
a software patent regime, each of these could be turned into a
monopoly and would constitute a no-go zone for competitors. That is why
Bill Gates also said:
"A future start-up with no patents of its own will be forced to pay
whatever price the giants choose to impose. That price might be
high: Established companies have an interest in excluding future
competitors."
In other words: software patents are an anti-competitive tool that
serves to raise the burden on innovation. The height of that barrier
is flexible and can easily be raised to trip established companies,
such as Philips, and innovative newcomers alike.
In previous letters we have explained how software patents cost jobs
and economic power in Europe. Today we would like to inform you how
they pose a threat to the International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS) [1] as all the ideas used in these standards will be implemented
in software and would therefore be patentable. This will affect all
European companies as the IFRS rules have been mandatory to all listed
companies in the European Union since 2002.
If you check the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database, you
will find that there are already hundreds of patents on software ideas
concerning expressions like "account" or "financial report". One of
them protects a system "for financial planning and advice" [2]. That
particular patent is held by American Express Financial Corporation
(Amex) - a company which we know better for its credit cards than its
innovative software.
After establishing a legal basis for software patents in Europe, Amex
might arbitrarily choose to determine which software company is
allowed to implement the IFRS or similar standards.
This of course assumes that none of Amex' competitors has an interest
in blocking such development and uses their patent on another
necessary idea to stop the development. But even if no one does: As all
systems have many components in common and the number of methods to
make computer systems secure is limited, any such software would
always be less secure in a software patent regime.
People in Europe often seem to look to the United States for economic
advice. This time, the CEO of Computer Associates, John Swainson, has
made the message remarkably clear: Europe should not introduce
software patents. [3]
Copyright provides a very efficient protection for computer software,
but in order for Copyright to protect your innovation, you first need
to have an innovation. That is why we hope EICTA will stand up and
oppose software patents because: "We must be allowed to innovate."
Yours sincerely,
Georg Greve
President
Free Software Foundation Europe
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ifrs
[2]
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/ne…'accounting+standards'&OS=%22accounting+standards%22&RS=%22accounting+standards%22
[3] http://www.ftd.de/tm/it/1110009214683.html?nv=sl
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
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and the Samba Team have
presented terms explaining how Microsoft could be brought into
compliance with the decision of the European Court of First Instance
of December 2004.
"In order to write interoperable software, developers use so-called
Interface Definition Language Files (IDL). These are currently held
secret by Microsoft, so no one else can write interoperable software.
In order to comply with its obligations, Microsoft should have to make
these available, along with a description of the encryption methods
they have employed, under a license enabling them to be implemented in
Free Software. This is the only way to make sure the Samba Team is
given a real chance to compete and interoperate with Microsoft," Georg
Greve, president of FSFE explains. He continues: "Given past
experiences, we also recommend to the Commission that it set a strict
delivery date for these specifications."
Last December, the European Court decided that Microsoft should not be
granted more time to expand its monopoly by withholding
interoperability information from competitors, requesting that the
antitrust decision of the European Commission be put into immediate
effect.
"Microsoft can no longer hide behind bland statements such as 'we will
comply', FSFE attorney Carlo Piana pointed out. "Now it is time to see
how committed they are to compliance. Our proposal is very balanced
and does not request more than the Samba Team could achieve by
'network analysis', but it forces the disclosure of the protocols in a
timely manner. We have asked the Commission to submit our proposal to
a reliable independent expert".
In the recent proposal from the FSFE [1], Samba developer Jeremy Allison
pointed out that : "IDL definitions are purely a way to describe an
interface - they describe a protocol." In order to develop
interoperable products is it necessary to have access to these
specifications. "It is similar to needing to know the grammar and
spelling rules in order to write in a language", Allison concludes.
Regarding encryption, Allison says: "Encryption of network traffic is
a well established practice and is not a Microsoft innovation. But to
successfully interoperate it is necessary to know what kind of
encryption is used, under what circumstances, and with what kind of
keys."
Regarding any compensation Microsoft feels it is entitled to, Carlo
Piana said: "The information we request is not secret because it is
valuable, it is valuable because it is secret. Additionally, we are
convinced that Microsoft has been over-compensated many times by its
monopoly position. Their extraordinary large operating profit
demonstrates that. Such profits have been made possible because of the
effects of and technological lock-ins and tying together of clients
and servers."
The only reasonable compensation that would not entirely defeat the
purpose of the European Commission decision would be a one-off fee for
obtaining a copy of the protocol documentation. A reasonable benchmark
for this fee might be the cost developers pay to get access to the
Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN), which contains much similar
information.
As with the MSDN terms and conditions, it would not be unreasonable to
also charge developers for updated and revised versions of the
protocol documents. However, these would have to be supplied in a
complete and timely fashion, the FSFE and the Samba Team emphasized.
"The Free Software world has once again shown how it is capable of
providing high-quality work even under adverse circumstances," Georg
Greve summarizes. "With the input of FSFE and the Samba Team to the
European Commission, they now hold in their hands what is needed to
make their decision have consequences. Taking into account how
Microsoft struggled to 'comply' with the decision, however, we
recommend that they constantly monitor Microsoft's behaviour."
Background: The FSFE has been involved as third party in the
original investigation and also the European Court case. It was
originally admitted to the court to defend the interests of the
Samba Team and is now permitted to bring up any aspect relevant to
Free Software. The Samba Team and FSFE worked as one team during the
entire proceedings and Samba representative Jeremy Allison spoke on
behalf of FSFE at the European Court.
[1] http://www.avvocatinteam.com/repository/request.tar.gz
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
1. Introduktion till FSF Europes nyhetsbrev
2. EU:s ministerråds beslut om mjukvarupatent
3. AGNULA
4. Välkomnande av FSF Europes presstalesman Joachim Jakobs
5. Georg Greve i Sydamerika
6. Säkra Fri Programvara från överbeskyddande
7. Andra viktiga händelser
1. Introduktion till FSF Europes nyhetsbrev
Runt Free Software Foundation Europes officiella generalförsamling den
15e maj diskuterades bland annat flera idéer om hur man kan förbättra
informationsspridning till allmänheten angående de aktiviteter som FSFE
genomför. Ett av resultaten från den diskussionen var beslutet om att
skapa ett månatligt nyhetsbrev, av vilket det här är det första.
2. EU:s ministerråds beslut om mjukvarupatent
En viktig händelse i maj var beslutet från EU:s ministerråd angående
det direktiv som behandlar patent på mjukvara. Europaparlamentet
hade tidigare tagit ett klart ställningstagande mot obegränsad
patenterbarhet på mjukvara. Det Iriska presidentskapet föreslog en
version av direktivet som går nästan helt emot det ställningstagande
som Europaparlamentet enades kring. Även om flera länder motsatte sig
det nya förslaget så fick det ändå tillräckligt stor majoritet för att
accepteras av ministerrådet.
Det faktum att ministerrådets motstånd mot mjukvarupatent trots allt
var betydligt starkare än vad man hade räknat med kan ses som ett
resultat av det lyckade arbetet av FSFE, FFII och flera andra
organisationer som har arbetat med att informera allmänhet och politiker
om faran med presidentskapets förslag. Eftersom beslutsprocessen ännu
inte är avslutad så fortsätter FSFE sitt arbete med att tillsammans med
dessa organisationer motarbeta obegränsad patenterbarhet på mjukvara.
3. AGNULA
AGNULA (A GNU/Linux Audio Distribution) räknas redan som en stor
framgång av alla inblandade och den Europeiska Kommissionen (som
sponsrade projektet). Arbetet med den slutgiltiga releasen fortsätter
och och FSFE stödjer fortfarande projektet genom att hjälpa till med
olika ärenden, exempelvis en speciell licens (AGNULA trademark license)
för att hantera rättigheter kring namnet.
4. Välkomnande av FSF Europes presstalesman Joachim Jakobs
För att underlätta press-arbetet inom FSF Europe har det beslutats att
anställa Joachim Jakobs på deltid som presstalesman.
5. Georg Greve i Sydamerika
Georg Greve besöker för tillfället flera platser i Sydamerika för att få
kontakt med lokala supporters av Fri Programvara och stödja dem i deras
arbete att bygga ett nätverk kring Fri Programvara i Sydamerika,
liknande den modell som FSF Europe arbetar efter. Hans arbete i
Sydamerika inkluderar en intervju för Argentinas viktigaste tidning, en
föreläsning vid Universitetet i Cordoba om Fri Programvara i utbildning,
en intervju för TV samt en intervju för den största radiostationen i
Uruguay och inledande tal vid USUARIA (en Sydamerikansk kongress om Fri
Programvara). Vi hoppas att hans besök ska vara ett led i planerna på
ett globalt nätverk av organisation kring Fri Programvara, av vilka FSF
Europe kommer vara en central del.
6. Säkra Fri Programvara från överbeskyddande
Det Italienska kapitlet har varit engagerade i att förändra en ny
Italiensk lagstiftning som kan vara väldigt skadlig för Fri Programvara.
För att begränsa de skador som den Italienska film och musik-industrin
påstår kommer från P2P-nätverk presenterade regeringen ett lagförslag
som gör det olagligt att publicera digitalt innehåll på en webbsida utan
att "för SIAE påpeka att publicisten har rättigheter att faktiskt göra
så."
Lagen introducerar också fler restriktioner som gör en lagöverträdelse
straffbar med upp till fyra års fängelse för att sprida filer på webben
utan författarens medgivande, även om så sker utan egen vinning.
Den föreslagna lagen var så absurd att FSF Europe har blivit ombedda av
BSA (Business Software Alliance) att samarbete för att hindra dess
implementering. Trots detta arbete så klubbades lagen igenom, även
om såväl regering som opposition håller med om att det är en väldigt
dålig lag. Regeringen har lovat att korrigera de problem som finns och
har redan tillkännagivit ett nytt lagförslag. FSF Europe kommer även
i fortsättningen att utöva starkt tryck på hela parlamentet.
7. Andra viktiga händelser
Stefano Maffulli medverkade i ett forum om "Intellektuellt ägande" på
Istituto Bruno Leoni (IBL) i Italien där han fick möjligheten att påpeka
flera av de bekymmer som finns när det gäller mjukvarupatent. Mot
slutet av månaden kunde han medverka i "summit of Italian Free Software
organizations" i Avellino där det fanns möjligheter att diskutera ett
starkare samarbete mellan de olika organisationerna.
--
FSF Europe
http://www.sweden.fsfeurope.org
19e maj, 2004
Mjukvarupatent: en dålig dag för Europa
"Europa är på väg att slutgiltigt ge upp sitt mål med att till 2010
bli den 'mest konkurrenskraftiga kunskaps-baserade regionen' och har
vid flertalet tillfällen misslyckats demokratiskt. Det är beklagligt
att den optimism och tillit som fanns till den Tyska regeringen var
förhastad. Gårdagen var inte en bra dag för varken Europa eller
Tyskland!" kommenterar Georg Greve, ordförande för Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE), gårdagens beslut i Europeiska Unionens
ministerråd angående "datorrelaterade uppfinningar."
Det direktiv som ministerrådet till slut enades om går tvärt emot
det tidigare förslaget från Europaparlamentet som sade nej till
införandet av patent på mjukvara vid en omröstning i september.
Det Europeiska Patentkontoret (EPO) har hittills beviljat runt 30.000
mjukvarupatent. Förslaget från Europaparlamentet hade gjort att de
flesta redan beviljade mjukvarupatenten hade ogillats. Något som
skulle ha främjat innovation och konkurrenskraft i Europa.
Ministerrådets direktiv, som Sverige okritiskt stött, går istället i
riktningen att legalisera de patent som redan beviljats. Om Europa-
parlamentet beslutar om direktivet så kommer dessa 30.000 patent-
minor att armeras, utan hänsyn tagen till den effekt deras explosion
kommer att få på ekonomi och samhälle.
Georg Greve avslutar: "Den Tyska justitieministern Zypries talade
om ett 'rundabordssamtal' med intresserade parter för att främja
ömsesidig förståelse. I stället för att 'främja ömsesidig förståelse'
efter att beslutet har tagits så föreslår jag att man använder
tillfället för att etablera permanenta rundabordssamtal där diskussioner
kring hållbara politiska beslut kan föras. Målet med sådana samtal
skulle vara att i alla fall komma ikapp den internationella konkurrensen
igen."
Med hänsyn tagen till direktivet föreslår vi att Europaparlamentet
inte accepterar det liggande förslaget utan återinför de begränsningar
i patenterbarhet som man ursprungligen enades kring.
Om Free Software Foundation Europe
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe) är en ideell icke-statlig
organisation som arbetar med alla aspekter av Fri Programvara i Europa.
Tillgång till mjukvara avgör vem som har möjlighet att medverka i
ett digitalt samhälle. Friheterna att använda, kopiera, modifiera och
redistribuera programvara, som de beskrivs i definitionen för Fri
Programvara, erbjuder möjligheten för lika tillgång till informations-
samhället. Centrala frågor för FSF Europe är att skapa medvetenhet kring
dessa frågor, säkra Fri Programvara politiskt och juridiskt samt ge
människor frihet genom att stödja utvecklingen av Fri Programvara. FSF
Europe bildades 2001 som den Europeiska systerorganisationen till Free
Software Foundation i USA.
http://fsfeurope.org
Kontakt
Sverige:
Jonas Öberg <oberg(a)fsfeurope.org>
telefon: +46-31-546211
Europa:
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org>
telefon: +49-40-23809080
fax: +49-40-23809081
Ytterligare kontaktinformation är tillgänglig på
http://fsfeurope.org/contact/