Text 1113, 182 rader
Skriven 2006-04-05 09:05:41 av madodel
Ärende: [VOICENWS] Net: Open source (OS/2) software under threat again
======================================================================
09:18:02 
<madodel@ptdprolog.net>, uid 50002) with qmail-scanner-1.23 
(authenticated:madodel@[24.238.80.37])
++ From the VOICE OS/2-eCS News Service   http://www.os2voice.org ++

From: Roderick Klein <rwkleinDESPAM@DESPAMwanadoo.nl>

Its simple OS/2 and eComStation have to thank a lot to the open source
software community! Open Office 2.0 for OS/2/eComStation is in the
pipeline, we have
Firefox and Thunderbird. Sane (for scanner usage). Its just a random pick
out of the long long list of applications that we use on OS/2 and
eComStation that are open source. Almost every OS/2 user is bound to have
an open source application running on his system.

The company Mensys is convinced that software patents are a direct threat
to open source software. So what is all the noise about ? Lobby groups for
years have been trying to get software patents legal in the European Union
which will allow for patents on software "inventions" with broad claims. With
legal broad software patents it will result in even more interest from
companies to start putting in many silly broad software patents and this in
the end
may have developers think twice to contribute to projects we use OS/2 and
eComStation and other platforms!

An organisation that has been putting a break on software patents is FFII.
If you work in the IT sector, please let your voice be heard
again! Please sign the petition, especialy if you live in the European Union!

The short story, FFII has been the fighting force against software patents
in the European Union. Sign this petition and fax it please:
http://patinfo.ffii.org/faxcollect.en.html

Thanks

Roderick Klein

The long story

PRESS RELEASE -- [ Europe / Economy / ICT]

========================================================================
  FFII requests, gets consultation extension from EU Commission
========================================================================

Brussels (4th April 2006) - Following a formal complaint by the FFII
to the EU Commission's President Barroso, and meetings between the
FFII and the Commission, the Commission has agreed to extend its
deadline from 31 March 2006 to 12 April 2006.

In a meeting with the Commission on 17th March, the FFII requested an
extension. "The original deadline was impossible to meet", said Pieter
Hintjens, President of the FFII. "We spoke to many firms that were
still preparing their response at the stroke of midnight on 31 March.
The Commission has not answered all of our complaints, but this
extension is welcome and helpful."

The Commission has published the extension on their website, saying
that "this deadline determines which replies will be taken into
account for the hearing on 13 June 2006."  Later replies may still be
considered.

The FFII and other organisations, including large software producers
such as SAP, view the consultation procedure (which covers the
Community Patent EU project and the European Patent Litigation
Agreement EPO project) as the third attempt to introduce software
patents into Europe.

Hintjens: "We told the Commission clearly: the Community Patent and
EPLA do raise the spectre of software patents, and this must be
discussed, not slipped under the table.  Furthermore, the EPO is a
large part of the problem and we want to see reform of this
institution.  Software patents introduce dangerous and anti-innovation
monopolies, are bad for business, and are demonstrably irrelevant to a
sector that has innovated for five decades without them."

The FFII is calling on businesses and organisations to endorse its own
response to the Commission, which will be handed in the day before the
new deadline.  Peter Gerwinski of the FFII: "Print out the page, sign
it, and fax it back to us.  We will collect the signatures into one
document that we will hand over personally to the Commission.   We
previously did something similar for the Call for Action III during the
second reading of the software patents directive and it made a great
impact."

The form to participate in this action is available
at
http://patinfo.ffii.org/faxcollect.en.html


========================================================================
  Background Information
========================================================================

* Participation form
http://patinfo.ffii.org/faxcollect.en.html

* Commission consultation website (mentions extension)
http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/indprop/patent/
consultation_en.htm

* FFII consultation websites:
   * English: http://consultation.ffii.org
   * French http://consultation.ffii.fr/
   * Dutch http://www.ffii.be/gemeenschapsoctrooi
* FFII call for participation
http://wiki.ffii.org/Compat060322En

* Flaws in the consultation procedure
http://consultation.ffii.org/Press_Release

* Permanent link to this press release
http://wiki.ffii.org/Compat060404En


========================================================================
  Contact Information
========================================================================

Benjamin Henrion
FFII
Brussels
+32-2-4148403
bhenrionDESPAM@DESPAMffii.org
(French/English)


========================================================================
  About the FFII -- http://www.ffii.org
========================================================================

About the FFII: the Foundation for Free Information Infrastructure is
a Munich-based association that fights for competition in the IT
sector, based on copyright, open standards, and open markets.  The
FFII has fought software patents for six years, led by its founder
Hartmut Pilch, on the grounds that these create private monopolies
that work against innovation.  The FFII is funded by donations and
membership fees and counts activists and members in over 20 countries.

-- 

  Warpstock 2006 - Windsor, Ontario, Canada, October 12-15th, 
http://www.warpstock.org
  Warpstock Europe - http://www.warpstock.net

  [Moderator's note:  All posts are sent without guarantee to the
   accuracy of the content.  We try to verify details and URLs but
   this is an entirely volunteer run list, so 100% fact checking and
   the quality/useability of products announced here is impossible.

   If you respond to this post please remove the DESPAM from the
   poster's email addresses.   Please do not send requests for information
   about a specific post to the moderator unless it is an update or I
sent it.]










-- 

To unsubscribe yourself from this list, send the following message
to majormajor@os2voice.org

     unsubscribe news your.email.address@here
     end

Or, visit http://www.os2voice.org/MailingLists.html

If you have an announcement you would like posted to the VOICE 
News list, please send it to submit@os2voice.org or go to 
http://www.os2voice.org/fSubNews.html . Please include a 
valid reply address and a real contact name.  If you wish to comment
on this post, please reply to feedback@os2voice.org

---
 * Origin: Waldo's Place USA Internet Gateway (1:3634/1000)