Ok, here's something from myself and Malcolm:
First reading is still probably 6 months away. Right now it's just at the
"first draft published by European Commission" stage.
======================8<------------------------------
The European Commission has recently published a draft for a directive
"on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of
intellectual property rights", COM 2005(276).
The justification is that "counterfeiting and piracy ... [appear] to
be increasingly linked to organised crime."
The directive cites Article 17(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights
which states that "Intellectual property shall be protected", however
the Commission's text throws Articles 48 and 49 of that Charter out
the window (Presumption of innocence, and proportionality of
punishments).
(maybe these two paragraphs should be deleted)
Irish Free Software Organisation therefore proposes that the
Commission's text be modified to agree with their justifications:
The criminal measures, which are currently meaninglessly limited to
"appropriate circumstances", should be more concretely limited to
"when done to support organised crime".
We feel that such a limit is necessary to avoid significant dangers to
legitimate European life and industry.
Why is a Free Software organisation concerned?
Free Software has huge social benefits, but it is sometimes vulnerable
to attack by disingenuous uses of intellectual property law. As Free
Software continues to takes up an increasing amount of the market
share of other players in the software market, we are seeing that
rather than compete based on value to the customer, distributors of
proprietary software are looking for legal barricades and scare
tactics to prevent the adoption of free software.
One clear example is the SCO case in the USA.
SCO has accused IBM of mixing some SCO-owned code into the kernel of
the GNU/Linux operating system and is claiming that all users of
GNU/Linux have to pay licensing fees to SCO.
This case has been going on for years and many distributors of
GNU/Linux have be dragged into it. The Free Software Foundation has
had it's time wasted by broad subpoenas.
Despite it's numerous appearances in court, SCO has yet to be proven
right on even one single claim it has made.
The interesting thing is that SCO is funded by Microsoft - the makers
of Microsoft Windows, whose closest rival is: GNU/Linux.
Another leaked memo, the authenticity of which has been confirmed by
Blake Stowell of SCO, revealed that SCO received funding of more than
$100 million from Microsoft!
An internal memo[2] describing SCO's own investigation of the matter
said that they "had found absolutely *nothing*. ie no evidence of any
copyright infringement whatsoever". That memo was written in 2002,
but SCO continued it's smear campaign and legal wranglings against
free software businesses.
Now, trying to prevent organised crime is a good goal, but when rights
holders are given extreme powers of investigation and the ability to
threaten with jail time: who are the organised criminals? The
companies selling GNU/Linux and related services? Or the company that
is sueing people despite knowing it doesn't have a case?
The current text allows:
=========has to be reviewed & rewritten====================
Copied verbatim from: http://www.ffii.org.uk/ip_enforce/ipred.html
> * Anton Piller orders (secret court authorisations of raids for
> evidence by the plaintiff's agents -- Article 8);
> * Mareva injunctions (freezing of assets, even before a case has been
> discussed in Court -- Article 10.1);
> * new powers to demand the disclosure of very extensive commercial and
> personal information (Article 9);
> * and the admissibility of denounciations by anonymous witnesses as
> court evidence (Article 8.5).
> 1. Disputes about patents and trade secrets/confidential information
> taken out of the scope of the directive altogether. The draconian
> measures being discussed are completely inappropriate for such complex
> disputes.
> 2. The Directive should only apply where there is intent to infringe
> for commercial gain on a commercial scale. It should not apply
> unless there is good evidence of recklessness or a deliberate
> knowing intention to infringe.
> 3. Articles 7 to 10 should even then only apply in exceptional
> cases. It should be clearly stated in the Directive that they are
> not intended to become automatic standard procedure in all IP
> disputes.
I think I've eaten the references to these, but here are Malcolms
original cites:
[1]
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/com2005_0276en…
[2] http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IBM-459-22.pdf
[3] http://www.opensource.org/halloween/halloween10.html
[4] http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1542915,00.asp
======================8<------------------------------
--
Ciarán O'Riordan, | Support FSFE's work against
http://www.compsoc.com/~coriordan/ | software patents by becoming
| a Fellow: http://fsfe.org
As mentioned by Georg Greve a couple of weeks ago, Beatriz Busaniche of
Fundacion Via Libre (FSFE's Argentinian associate organisation) and
founding member of Free Software Foundation Latin America will be in
Dublin next week.
There are two opportunities to meet Beatriz while she's in town.
1. Tuesday, 30 August 2005 at 19.00
Dublin Literary Pub Crawl: meets at The Duke Pub, 9 Duke St, Dublin 2
(off Grafton St) at 19.00. Tickets €10,-
http://www.dublinpubcrawl.com/
Malcolm and I will be outside the Duke at 19.00. Beatriz will recognise
us by our IFSO tshirts ;-)
2. Wednesday, 31 August 2005 at 19.00
Dinner at the Clarendon, 4 Chatham Row, Dublin 2
http://www.dublinks.com/index.cfm/loc/8/pt/0/spid/3C9195BE-CA71-4D47-88DACD…
Malcolm, Ciarán and I will be there. If you would like to join us for
dinner (at own cost), please let me know by 13.00 on Wednesday.
Thanks
Teresa
One way to help spread awareness of accurate information about software
freedom is to correct mistakes in history books such as Wikipedia.
Having a massive contributor base brings the negative consequence that
wide-spread confusions have a similar status to facts.
Some examples: "free software" is GPL'd software only. Free software and
open source are not the same (in practice, the difference is usually
insignificant), Linux is an operating system, etc. etc. etc.
Currently there are more references to "open source" in wikipedia than there
are of "free software". Since the former is simply a marketing term for the
latter, and the latter predates the former by 15 years, this seems confused.
So when you have a minute, consider looking at the pages of the free
software you use and making sure that the page says that it is [[free
software]]. (And maybe the license, references to other free software,
... etc.)
--
Ciarán O'Riordan, | Support FSFE's work against
http://www.compsoc.com/~coriordan/ | software patents by becoming
| a Fellow: http://fsfe.org
* 83.71.144.17 OpenOfficeTue, 23 Aug 2005 07:00:02 -0000
URL: http://www.ifso.ie/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi/OpenOffice?action=diff
* 83.71.144.17 SoftwareFreedomDayTue, 23 Aug 2005 07:00:02 -0000
=== Free Documentation ===
- These are sites where you can find documentation released under the "Creative Commons Attribution License";http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ or under "Creative Commons";http://creativecommons.org/ licenses.
+ These are sites where you can find documentation released under the "Creative Commons";http://creativecommons.org/ licenses.
+ * "Tutorials for Open Office";http://www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org/category_index/Index.html
* "The International Open Source Network";http://www.iosn.net/training '''This is linked from the SFD site.'''
* "The International Open Source Network (End User Guide)";http://www.iosn.net/training/end-user-manual/
* "Bytebot.net";http://training.bytebot.net/ application documentation and general installation with a heavy Fedora slant
@@ -45, +46 @@
If someone has time to do any of the following, please send the results to the mailing list at '''midlands''' at '''linux''' dot '''ie'''
* '''Damn Small Linux''' Install it on a USB drive.
- 1: Is there a seperate 'Embedded' version needed?
+ 1. Is there a seperate 'Embedded' version needed?
- 2: Will it install onto 128mb
+ 2. Will it install onto 128mb
- 3: What versions of Windows can you boot into it from.
+ 3. What versions of Windows can you boot into it from.
... URL: http://www.ifso.ie/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi/SoftwareFreedomDay?action=diff
-------- Original Message --------
The EU's IDABC Programme has just released the 'EU public licence'
(EUPL), a draft open source software license designed to provide legal
certainty for software owners and users in the European context. The aim
of the EUPL is to encourage public administrations throughout Europe to
publish the software applications they develop and that could be used by
others. The draft EUPL is available at:
http://europa.eu.int/idabc/en/document/2623/5585#eupl (on the page look
for "draft EUPL (PDF)")
Dear Eamon,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm holding off on formally asking
for a suspension of my free mailings of "Computer Scope", such is the
irrelevance of the publication to those who don't have a vested interest
in the commercial software industry, and all the Spyware, Anti-virus, FUD,
Patents, Digital Rights Management and "Intellectual Property" discussions
going on at the moment.
I despair while doing so, but still flick the pages of Computer Scope, in
the hope that the penny will drop that the world has moved on from
commercial software, and the evidence can be seen by the tactics used by
the likes of Microsoft and others, to lobby to see introduced, legislation
which would have the convenient side-effect of criminising under
intellectual property law, those who dare to interfere with their
perceived market monopoly.
Those who hijack EU legislation (on patents and intellectual property) in
an attempt to sustain their business model, really HAVE lost the technical
battle. They just need to be exposed for that they are.
Did you notice I used the phrase "Intellectual property" a couple of times
here. Without looking back to the earlier paragraph, ask yourself now
"What IS intellectual property, exactly?".
Did the answer include the words "Trademarks", "Copyrights", and/or
"Patents" in any particular order. I'll be upfront here, I don't know
what "Intellectual property" is. It appears to be nothing more than a
blurring phrase used to mash (at least these three) totally dissimilar
definitions (Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents) into one mess under one
umbrella to quell (what would otherwise be) public outrage. The public
just end up concluding that "It's about something to avoid piracy and
illegal copying", and don't question further. Educate them!
Were you aware that two attempts were made to introduce US-Style software
patents in the EU, which would have subjected to patents and litigation,
almost every idea that is used by software developers. This would have
destroyed the EU software industry as we know it, and yet the coverage and
education provided to Irish Business by Computer Scope was close to nil.
Incidentally, the Commissioner meetings where the Software Patents
legislation was going to be put through as an "A-Item" were at an
AGRICULTURE minister's meeting and a FISHERIES meeting. In case you're
wondering (and you should), I checked these reports in disbelief, and
discovered them to be true. Check the mail archives at http://ifso.ie/
for yourself.
The latest threat to market competition is another round of "Intellectual
Property" legislation which would also have the convenient side-effect of
outlawing market competition to "Intellectual property" holders. So,
there's that question again.. "What IS intellectual property anyway".
Nobody knows, and that's why it's entirely open to abuse and spin.
I would appreciate if you could pass my comments on to the relevant
people, because as a free software user, I am entirely disgusted that what
business percieve as a source of education and information, is being used
as a tool of the advertisers (who are invariably going to have
diametrically opposing views).
As these are the people who pay your bills through advertising, I don't
expect a sympathetic hearing for my views. Neither do I expect coverage
to be given to Software Freedom Day.
I'm not sure what to hope to expect as a result of sending this mail...
honesty I hope, but I'd settle for:
* Some indication that an attempt has been made to find the details on
these issues on FFII.org - ifso.ie and softwarefreedomday.org
* A visit to Groklaw would show an interest in both getting up to speed,
and passing on the result to your readers
* You may want me to write for you (if your attitude is right) or may
want me to suggest people who should write for you. I could!
* I may decide that the publication is too far compromised to be worth
receiving (even for free as now). 20 minutes was the longest reading it's
got in the last year, and this was usually because of some
software-neutral content. At this rate, I feel environmentally guilty for
continuing to receive it, but wish to give you all a chance to correct the
content.
* I have more than enough enlightened reading in Linux Format and
LinuxUser magazines (both UK based)... so much so that I stopped my
subscription to Linux Magazine (which couldn't compete for my time)
against the content of the other two.
I hope you don't pick this up wrong the wrong way. I'm desperate to see a
magazine used as a source of education and information to business, and
fulfil it's funtion. At the moment, Non-commercial software receives only
lip-service, so it doesn't.
Just so you know my perspective here, I run my own Linux Business
http://linuxfactory.ie/ and I'm a member of both the Midlands Linux User
Group http://midlands.linux.ie/ and the Irish Free Software Organisation
http://ifso.ie/ but I'm speaking here in an entirely personal capacity and
not on behalf of these organisations. I'm presently involved in
organising activities for Software Freedom Day on September 10th
http://softwarefreedomday.org/ which is taking up all my spare time.
Genuinely looking forward to the reply from the relevant person, and
improved content in the magazine.
Kindest regards,
Mel
Dearest Oskarku,
Can't address a kitten any other way! Let me introduce myself... I'm Mel McWeeney, and you can find out about me at linuxfactory.ie - I'm a member and co-founder of the Irish Midlands Linux User Group and the Irish Free Software Organisation and I'm organising at the moment for Software Freedom Day on September 10th, and I'm writing in a personal capacity here. I'm omitting URLs so that this mail isn't blocked as a spam for having too many URLs.
My head's been done in by the lack of an installer on Breezy Badger as provided on "the open CD" and ALL Gnoppix / Hoary / Gnome Live CD's I've wasted so much time downloading and trying. I've been looking at using the Beatrix Installer and attempting to add this to The OpenCD3 but I have to wonder at this stage, WHY has nobody already done this, and what do they know that I'm about to waste time discovering? I've posted to the SFD site today about this subject, and will watch for replies over the coming days.
What I hope to find out as a result of sending this mail, is whether or not Mark Phalan (being Irish and all) has attempted this and backed off, or if there is work in progress, could I have an update, because I'd love to offer 'the open CD3' as an option at software freedom day. I'm in the process of organising a stand at Longford Shopping Centre, and possibly (depending on my progress) the Irish Free Software Organisation may organise an event as well, in Dublin.
Where stands Beatrix Breezy as we speak? I have 2005.1F but would love to offer something with Beagle / F-Spot / Dbus / Hal. I'm in danger of running out of time to integrate Morphix-installer into Gnoppix/Hoary/Breezy, so I'd appreciate any opinion available.
I'm considering putting together a multiboot CD (if I can find out how) or offer a CD with many mini-distros for people to burn and try, and offer a Wiki where they can discuss their experiences The IFSO ( http://ifso.ie/ ) have given Wiki space for me to do this.
I'd love to hear any opinions that could save me time, or links to Beta stuff you might be doing at the moment towards Breezy. Hopefully you can oblige!
Best regards
Mel
* 193.120.144.172 SoftwareFreedomDayFri, 19 Aug 2005 07:00:04 -0000
- = SoftwareFreedomDay =
+ = Software Freedom Day =
The second Global "[Software Freedom Day ]";http://softwarefreedomday.org/ will take place on 10th September 2005. Last year the event was marked by the "[Midlands Linux User Group]";http://midlands.linux.ie/portal and a stand operated at Longford S.C. where various free software CDs were given out for €1.00 each. This nominal charge was to cover the cost of the CDs themselves, as well as to emphasise the nature of the "freedom" as we understand it in this community. URL: http://www.ifso.ie/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi/SoftwareFreedomDay?action=diff
* 193.118.251.61 FrontPageFri, 19 Aug 2005 07:00:04 -0000
Better introductory sentence and link to homepage
= IFSO Wiki =
+ Welcome to the IFSO wiki. A wiki for information and collaboration on topics relating to the '''Irish Free Software Organisation''' ([http://www.ifso.ie homepage])
+
- Welcome to the IFSO wiki. A WikiWikiWeb is a collaborative hypertext environment, with an emphasis on easy access to and modification of information. The IFSO wiki is based on the free MoinMoin wiki engine.
+ A WikiWikiWeb is a collaborative hypertext environment, with an emphasis on easy access to and modification of information. The IFSO wiki is based on the free MoinMoin wiki engine.
* '''News''': The wiki engine has been upgraded to the most recent version. As a side-effect we got some anti-spam measures so we're able to turn public editing back on. You no longer need to be logged in to contribute to the wiki. In addition there is a nifty new default theme that looks much nicer, and a slew of new features.
* Update: the anti spam features should now actually be working! URL: http://www.ifso.ie/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi/FrontPage?action=diff
Tuesday is the third Tuesday of the month, so there will be a meeting
at 2000h in Mahaffey's pub:
http://www.ifso.ie/images/mahaffeys.png
Possible agenda items:
* IFSO business cards. A stack will be handed to any IFSO member in
attendance.
* Issues: Patents, Enforcement, Data retention, etc.
- Should we divide into teams? We discussed it before, but it
didn't get anywhere
- Is data retention a free software issue? If not, perhaps we should
support another organisation's position, e.g. EDRI? There's a
petition. Should we sign it?
https://wiki.dataretentionisnosolution.com/index.php/Main_Page
- Ciaran's suggested letter about copyright being used as a letter.
* It was suggested that IFSO join EDRI?
* There's word of an Irish EFF. What level of support can we offer?
* Beatriz Busaniche in town - Let us entertain her!
* Accounts (progress report)
- Teresa can't attend, so this may not be possible this month.
* Web page hasn't changed in a while, Malcolm!
- Also, where are the July minutes and notes from Ciaran's talk?
* Wiki could be merged into a possible FSFE wiki
- to move or not to move?
* IFSO in Brussels: communication, liason, etc.
* Software Freedom Day?? http://softwarefreedomday.org/ (Sep 10th)
* Anyone to attend CALIBRE conference? (Sep 9th)
These are taken from various discussion on the committee list. Some
of these topics need discussion on this list, so feel free to start
a thread if something looks interesting).
Good luck,
Malcohol.
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