The European Parliament has called upon the Commission and public bodies across Europe to help citizens protect themselves from surveillance. Free Software (referred to here as “open source”) plays a key role in this effort: The European Parliament: […] 29. Urges the Commission and Member States to devise appropriate measures to promote, develop and manufacture Read more »
Now that software patents are back on the table, it’s important to understand how the European patent system actually works. You need to know this in order to discuss the unitary patent and FSFE’s demands with the MEPs you call and ask for support. The most surprising point is that the European patent system isn’t Read more »
Should Europe have software patents? The discussion is back in full force. After the European Parliament rejected patents on software in 2005, things went quiet for a while. Now the European Parliament is about to decide on setting up a single patent for Europe, known as the “unitary patent”. This is a chance to get Read more »
I spent the weekend at the Rencontres Mondiales du Logiciel Libre in Bordeaux, France.This is the biggest Free Software meeting in France, and the community is tremendously active. There are lots of groups doing great work, from April via Aful and user-operated ISP French Data Network, and I met many impressive, smart and dedicated people. Read more »
Right ahead of Document Freedom Day, the European Commission has further watered down the European Interoperability Framework, a key document on interoperability and Open Standards. In its present form, it will only cement the current dominant position of proprietary software vendors. Should EIFv2 be adopted in its current form, most citizens will continue to be forced to use proprietary file formats to communicate with their authorities. It will also mean the loss of countless contracts for European small and medium enterprises, with less jobs in Europe as a result.
FSFE is tracking the changes on a comparison page. The analysis clearly shows how the EC’s Directorate General for Informatics has bowed to pressure from proprietary lobbyists. Contact your national government’s CIO, and let her or him know that you’re concerned.
A draft Digital Agenda leaks from the new European Commission. There are good things on Open Standards in there, but a power struggle within the Commission is threatening progress.
Software should not be patentable, anywhere. But what to do about those unfortunate jurisdictions where software patents are currently allowed? At the World Intellectual Property Organisation, FSFE pushes to at least put in place a working system to challenge patents. The goal of getting rid of patents on software entirely remains the same.
This week, Dutch journalist Brenno de Winter published a leaked draft for a new version of the European Interoperability Framework (EIF). The current version of the EIF, from 2004, has been referenced around the world as a prime example of how public administrations can make use of Open Standards and Free Software in order to Read more »
High Noon in Brussels: At the end of her term, competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes is wrapping up two open cases against Microsoft. The company offered to settle in July 2009. FSFE is concerned that a quick settlement could deprive Europeans of competition and innovation in a software market based on open standards, in particular where Free Software is concerned.
This incident goes to show that not even the biggest companies with
the largest armies of lawyers can consider themselves safe from the
damage that software patents do.