[d@DCC] EU software patent restart: "Like Rocky II with an instant rematch"

From: Russell McOrmond <russell _-at-_ flora.ca>
To: General Copyright Discussions <discuss (at) list.digital-copyright.ca>
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 15:19:58 -0500 (EST)

  It is great to be watching this.  One thing that I have been wondering 
about is how best to contact RedHat here in Canada.  This is a company 
co-founded by Bob Young of Hamilton, Ontario, so it should be possible to 
get some support for our campaigns here.

  Bob will be at the Sound Rights conference next Friday, and hopefully 
someone will be able to let him know about us and our need of some help.

-- 
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/> 
 Happy Hacking, Eh!    http://www.digital-copyright.ca/blog/2 (My BLOG)
 Sign the Petition Users' Rights! http://digital-copyright.ca/petition/

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005 09:36:55 +0100
From: Florian Mueller <florian.mueller -at- nosoftwarepatents.com>
To: patents -at- aful.org
Subject: [Patents] EU software patent restart: "Like Rocky II with an
    instant rematch"

EU PROCESS ON SOFTWARE PATENTS RESTARTED:
"LIKE ROCKY II WITH AN INSTANT REMATCH"

Vast majority in Legal Affairs Committee of European Parliament demands
restart of legislative process on software patent directive -- Large
corporations opposed, small and medium-sized companies relieved -- "Like
Rocky II with an instant rematch"

Brussels (03 February 2005).  In a stunning development, the Legal Affairs
Committee of the European Parliament decided last night to request a restart
of the process on the controversial software patent directive.  That
procedural step was initiated by software patent critics, and the Polish
government provided strategic support by delaying a decision in the EU
Council so that the parliament had time for this move.  Large corporations
such as Nokia and Ericsson opposed the initiative until the last minute.
The day before, Microsoft founder Bill Gates had paid a visit to the
European Parliament.

In an overcrowded meeting room, in which many had to stand and thus missed
the simultaneous interpretation via headset, EU InternaI Market Commissioner
Charlie McCreevy tried to dissuade parlamentarians at the eleventh hour.
Too late: After the largest group, the conservative European People's Party
(EPP), had embraced the notion of a restart, the stage was set for a vote
with only two dissenters.  A formal ratification of the EU Council's
political agreement of 18 May 2004 is virtually impossible by now.  The
focus is on the EU Commission, which will probably submit a new proposal.

Florian Mueller, manager of the pan-European NoSoftwarePatents.com campaign,
had drafted a motion for a restart that was signed by 61 MEPs in December
and got the ball rolling.  He describes yesterday's decision as a
"spectacular victory for democracy" but points to the increased challenge:
"This is like Rocky II with an instant rematch.  We're light years away from
the final credits.  I guess our situation is like that of Manchester United
after Teddy Sheringham's equalizer in the 1999 Champions League final: We
have to keep pushing.  In our case, for years to come."

Mueller continued: "From the bottom of my heart I wish to thank all of those
who made this possible, particularly the FFII (www.ffii.org), the Polish
government, key parliamentarians in all political groups, and those
companies and people who supported my campaign, especially in the days
leading to this decision."  The NoSoftwarePatents.com campaign was brought
into being with the support of three IT companies: 1&1 from Germany (world's
largest web hoster), Red Hat (premier Linux company) and MySQL AB (Europe's
largest open-source software company).  Lobbying for a restart of the
process was one of the initially stated goals of the campaign.

Brussels will continue to be a battlefield for the future of the software
industry.  "The Empires will strike back" in Mueller's prediction.  Even
until the beginning of the committee meeting, such corporations as
Microsoft, Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel had tried to thwart the plans, hoping
to achieve the legalization of software patents in the EU at the earliest
opportunity.  Over the last months, the pendulum had been swinging in favor
of software patent critics, but without this procedural step, the EU would
have remained on the verge of allowing patents on computer software.

About the NoSoftwarePatents.com Campaign

The NoSoftwarePatents.com campaign was launched on October 20th and is
supported by three IT companies (1&1, Red Hat, and MySQL AB).  The views
expressed by the campaign are those of the campaign manager and not
necessarily those of the aforementioned companies.

Through Web content in 17 languages, the campaign addresses a pan-European
audience.  More information on the campaign is available on its Website.

Contact Information

For further information concerning this announcement or the
NoSoftwarePatents.com campaign, please contact:

Florian Mueller
Campaign Manager, NoSoftwarePatents.com
telephone +49 (8151) 651850
press -at- nosoftwarepatents.com
_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss@list.digital-copyright.ca
http://list.digital-copyright.ca/mailman/listinfo/discuss