[Sheflug] Software patents update

[Aldous Everard <aldous [at] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

All,

"FFII ALERT: EU patent officials meeting *this week* to decide Software
Patent directive."

I guess people will be aware of this already, but I thought I'd send it
just in case.  If you want to have a say in this issue and haven't
already, here's a synopsis of what's happening:

"The European Parliament voted in September for a clear exclusion of
software from patentability... But this vote is in danger of being set
aside at a meeting of the EU's Competitiveness Council of Ministers on
10 November. The ministers' meeting is to be "negotiated" at a meeting
of senior patent officials from across Europe even sooner: this Thursday
23 October.

It could be our last good chance to stop software patents in Europe.

Every letter counts."

See more at:

http://www.ffii.org.uk/council.html

Let's hope we don't lose this one on the second round.

Aldous

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