Ethipat - the Campaign for Ethical Patents is an initiative of the FFII

[Stefano Spinucci]

from the site http://www.ethipat.org

* About Ethipat *

The Campaign for Ethical Patents is an initiative of the FFII.

The FFII is a non-profit organisation dedicated to establishing a free
market in information technology, by the removal of barriers to
competition. In 2005, CNET awarded the FFII the Outstanding
contribution to Software Development award for this work.


* Frequently Asked Questions *

Why Europe, not the World?
It's a start.

Why "Ethics"?
Ethics is our sense of justice, our sense of the balance in a
relationship. When a law or system treats many people unfairly, it's
unethical. People have abused the term, saying "business ethics",
which is an oxymoron like "military intelligence" or "industrial
action". Businesses do not have a sense of ethics unless they are very
small, or run by very clever and dominant people who understand that
balance and fairness can be good for profits.

Surely "ethics" is totally subjective?
We've defined ethics in terms of discrimination. If we argue against a
system or law because we don't like it, we're being subjective. But if
argue against it because it treats certain people unfairly, we're
being objective. Ethics, when framed like this, is not philosophy, but
a real yardstick that we can use to measure the balance, and overall
value, of any social system, partnership, agreement, contract, etc.

What's the point?
To collect a lot of signatures, and to push for a new EU patent
directive that fixes the mess created by the European Patent Office
over the last years.

How can I help?
Send a poster to a friend and ask them to sign the petition. If you go
to an event where you think people will care, print out some posters
and hand them around.