[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[Sheflug] Europarl Hearing on Software Patents



Hi 

This just dropped into my mailbox.  Thought that someone else might 
like to read it....



Thank you for signing our

        Petition for a Software Patent Free Europe
        http://petition.eurolinux.org/

a while ago, and for allowing us to inform you about upcoming 
actions.[1]

We now need your participation again.  The European Parliament is 
likely to ratify a Software Patent Directive,  possibly with helpful 
amendments, in May.  Detailed news are found at

        http://swpat.ffii.org/news/index.en.html

Your participation can have a decisive influence.

Here are a few things to do:

(1) Sign our Amendment Proposals by clicking

        http://petition.ffii.org/eubsa/en
        
    or, if you already have a user ID, by logging into the
    
        FFII/Eurolinux Community Tool
        http://petition.ffii.org/
        
    and then navigating through "Signing Appeals".      
        
(2) Now you are logged into a system which makes it easy to
    select and contact Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)
  
    Click
        
      ==> My MEPs 
      ==> I would rather select an MEP myself 
      ==> [ selection criteria ] 
      ==> [ 1 MEP ]

(3) Directly phone your MEP, express your concern about the
    "Software Patent Directive Project", find out who in this MEP's
    office is studying the matter, how they think and whom they
    follow, and inform us by filling in the "Confidential Note" field.
    
    It is very important that MEPs hear *your* voice directly
    and not just the voices of a few "Eurolinux lobbyists".

(4) Write to the person with whom you just phoned.
    Perhaps also publish a position statement on your website.
    Keep it simple[2] but feel free to ask for our assistance in 
formulating.
    In any case, send us copies/pointers.

(5) The Green and Liberal Fractions of the European Parliament are 
calling on representatives of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) to 
speak at a hearing on May 8th about the Software Patent Directive 
Project.  There will also be a demonstration with theatre and 
speeches in front of the parliament building and a scientific 
conference starting on May 7th.

    Information about the event schedule is appearing at

        http://swpat.ffii.org/events/2003/europarl/05/
        
    and you can register as a participant through the 
petition.ffii.org
    Community Tool.  If you would like to help with organisational 
work 
    (e.g. onsite work in Brussels, organising driving communities etc)
    please sign up at
    
           http://lists.ffii.org/mailman/listinfo/bxl

    If you would like to speak at one of the events, please contact me
    directly.
    
    Please consider speaking at the hearing, if you can speak for a
    company.  Companies from Eastern Europe (future member countries) 
are
    also (and even particularly) welcome. 

(6) Donate for our lobbying expenses.  We are spending at least
    30,000 EUR on top of a lot of unpaid voluntary work, and we will 
not be able to pay all our bills unless you come forward with 
donations.

    The bank account for a donation is 

        Country: DE (Germany)
        Bank Code 70150000
        BIC (bank identifier code): SSKMDEMM
        SWIFT: SSKM DE MM
        Name of Bank: Stadtsparkasse Muenchen
        Bank's Postal Address: DE 80335 Muenchen / Lotstr 1
        Account: 31112097
        IBAN (international bank account number)[3]: 
DE78701500000031112097
        Account Owner: FFII e.V., 
        Account Owner's Postal Address: DE 80636 Muenchen / 
Blutenburgstr 17
        Keyword: europarl

    FFII is acknowledged as a public-interest association and we will 
send you a receipt that at least in Germany makes the donation 
tax-deductible.  It would be great if you could get started with at 
least one of the above items right now.

For brevity, we are writing in English only this time, but we will try 
to answer your questions or replies in the language of your choice.

Yours sincerely
Mit freundlichen Gruessen
Amicalement
kore, adios, ciao, groeten, na schledanou, saygilar, geia xara ...

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. 
+49-89-12789608   
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       
http://swpat.ffii.org/
140,000 signatures against software patents         
 http://noepatents.org/

[1] If someone abused your email address or for some other reason you 
do not want to be a signatory of our petition, please say so clearly 
and we will remove your signature. Note that as long as you are a 
signatory and the reasons for this petition continue to exist, you 
may occasionally (not more than 1x/month) receive short mails such as 
this one, which are strictly limited to helping you achieve the aims 
which you have endorsed.
[2] Avoid speculative assertions, just explain your interest, e.g.
    - you want to create/use software without having to worry about 
patents (explain what your stakes in software are, why copyright 
works fine for you, why you are more innovative without patents).
    - you have trusted in Art 52 EPC (European Patent Convention, 
Convention sur le Brevet Europeen CBE, Europaeisches 
Patentuebereinkommen EPUe),
      according to which "programs for computers" (Programme fuer
      Datenverarbeitungsanlagen, programmes pour ordinateurs) are not 
      patentable inventions (patentfaehige Erfindungen, inventions
      brevetables), see also http://swpat.ffii.org/analysis/invention/
      You want the European Parliament to restore the trust in the law
      which the European Patent Office (EPO) has recently destroyed.
    - Words such as "computer-implemented invention" or "technical", 
as used in the proposal, make no sense to you, the software expert.
The directive says its wants "clarification" but, at least for people 
such as yourself, it makes things extremely unclear and confusing. 
Does your MEP really understand this supposed "clarification"?
"Computer-implemented invention" (inventions mise en oevre par
 ordinateur, computer-implementierte Erfindung) is a new word created 
by patent lawyers in order to suggest that "programs for computers" 
are,  contrary to what is written in Art 52 EPC, patentable 
inventions. You feel strongly offended by the title of the proposed 
"Directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions" 
and threatened by its contents.  No more junk laws, please!
    - You support the
    
          Call for Action
          http://swpat.ffii.org/papers/eubsa-swpat0202/demands/

      and urge your MEP to support it likewise (some MEPs are already 
listed as signatories). - You could also propose to meet your MEP, 
possibly around the May 7/8 events, to which your MEP is invited.

[3] We are told that, using the IBAN, money can now be transferred 
between european countries for the domestic fee, thanks to a recent 
EU internal  market harmonisation directive which can be enforced 
against banks.





___________________________________________________________________

Sheffield Linux User's Group -
http://www.sheflug.co.uk/mailfaq.html

  GNU the choice of a complete generation.