FSF Europe have launched a "fellowship" program: http://www.fsfe.org
Here's the email I sent to ILUG: A call to help FSF Europe protect Free Software
FSF Europe have launched a "fellowship" program: http://www.fsfe.org
For 120 euro per year, you get a personalised OpenPGP compliant cryptocard,
an fsfe.org login with homepage, blog, email alias, etc, but the real reason
to join is that the FSFE needs support from you to expand it's work
protecting the freedom to write and use free software.
As well as helping to build a network of national free software
initiatives[0], such as Irish Free Software Organisation, FSF Europe has
been working at world trade agreement level to stop the creation of legal
impediments to writing and adopting free software.
Normally, it's only the big software owners and last centuries monopolies
that participate in world trade agreements. The dinosaurs are in charge of
evolution, and they don't like Free Software.
The EU's software patents directive and their copyright directive were
initiated to bring the EU into compliance with a 1995 world trade agreement
(TRIPs). While bodies such as IFSO have been working on these directives,
FSF Europe has been working to prevent the next batch of agreements from
spawning another wave of bad law.
Their work often gets no media spotlight, and little community attention,
but no one else is doing this work, so they do it.
Since their founding in 2001, FSF Europe has built up media relations, a
team of volunteer legal experts, and a network of national Free Software
initiatives (such as IFSO). Now they want to grow to the next level. In
particular they want to take a more active role against software idea
patents, and increase their world trade agreement work.
120 euro a year is less than the price of 3 pints a month, and most of us
have saved 100's or 1000's of euros in licensing fees thanks to
free-as-in-freedom software.
They rely on the support of the very small portion of society that knows
that these issues need work (you), so please consider getting out your
wallet and letting them know they don't stand alone.
Thanks.
[0] http://fsfeurope.org/associates/associates.en.html
There are also initiatives, like IFSO, that have been setup but
have not yet gone through the process of becomming official
associates.
--
Ciarán O'Riordan http://www.compsoc.com/~coriordan/
Free Software in Ireland: http://www.ifso.ie/
Please consider supporting FSF Europe's work: http://www.fsfe.org/
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 11:00:13 +0100, <fsfe-ie-request(a)fsfeurope.org> wrote:
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Commission won't restart patents directive (Malcolm Tyrrell)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 10:41:55 +0000
>> From: "Malcolm Tyrrell" <malcohol(a)eircom.net>
> Subject: [Fsfe-ie] Commission won't restart patents directive
> To: fsfe-ie(a)fsfeurope.org
> Message-ID: <20050301104157.50E9A1C448(a)crosspoint.fsfeurope.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> http://wiki.ffii.org/Com050228En
>
> Sigh,
>
> Malcohol.
Yes, sigh, - the FFII text is a bit incoherent, maybe illustrating the 'rage' of FFII; but do I take the text to mean that the EP will reject it if it goes back (after being passed as A, which should be unlikely)?
Based on the short term thinking of pols I would not be so sure the EP would reject it - it could easily be 'negotiated' in the context of some other item the EP wants to get through.
Back to the trenches.....if McC didn't support the decision to reject the restart (as seems likely) then did we make any progress on contacting his cabinet?
Bye, Barry
Hi all.
It looks like the directive will be put forward as an A-item at the
Competitiveness Council meeting of March 7th. We'll have to inform the
Irish Representative to vote against. I've put the bare bones of a letter
on the Wiki. It's still in a very rough state, so any help would be
appreciated:
http://www.ifso.ie/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi/SoftwarePatents_2fCompetitivenessCounci…
Malcohol.
P.S. I don't hold a lot of hope for persuading the Irish representative to
object. Recall that it was the Irish Government who put this draft forward
at the Competitiveness Council meeting of May last year.
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> We'll have to inform the Irish Representative to vote against.
Oops. I mean object. There won't be a vote.
Malcohol.
_________________________________________________________________
Sign up for eircom broadband now and get a free two month trial.*
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As mentioned in an earlier e-mail, it looks like the commission is pushing
to have this directive put forward as an A-list item on March 7th. This
is next Monday, so we need to get moving:
> http://wiki.ffii.org/Com050228En
This will be at a "Competition Council" meeting. We need to work out who
will be representing Ireland at this meeting.