(Apologies to those who have already seen this).
Announcement: On the morning of Friday November 18th, IFSO is organising an event hosted by MEP Proinsias De Rossa about preventing software patents in the EU. Topics covered will be:
* An analysis of the software patent directive; * a discussion of Free Software and computer security; * an introduction to IFSO/FSFE and their work; * the future of legislative obstacles to the development and distribution of software.
The event will be held in the European Parliament Office in Ireland, and spaces are limited. Participants are therefore asked to register their intent to attend by completing this form: http://ifso.ie/events/2005-11-18/registration.php
The main page for the event is: http://ifso.ie/events/2005-11-18/index.html where more details can be found
The programme is:
10:00 - Introduction from a parliament insider MEP Proinsias De Rossa, on how the software patents directive seemed to the politicians. 10:15 - Introduction to Irish Free Software Organisation (IFSO) Glenn Strong, Chairman of IFSO, on what IFSO does, what Free Software is. 10:30 - Preventing software patents in Europe Ciaran O'Riordan, on his work for FSFE in the European Parliament as a lobbyist. Ciaran O'Riordan is a committee member of IFSO and is working full time in Brussels as a political representative for Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). He has been involved in the campaign against software patents since early 2003 and is also involved in other directives related to legal issues which affect software freedom. 11:15 - Ensuring EU legislation doesn't inhibit computer security Gareth Bowker on how the computer security industry would be affected by software patents and other legislation such as the new proposal for criminalising patent, copyright, and trademark misuse. Gareth Bowker is the Director of Diogel Limited, a Network Security company based in South Wales who provide secure Internet connections, secure networkds, and Voice-over-IP systems for clients throughout Wales and Great Britain. 12:00 - break Short break with coffee available. 12:20 - Questions and Answers for the panel The main speakers plus other committee members of IFSO will take questions on the topics covered.