= Illegal procurement favouring Microsoft killed in Portuguese court =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130429-01.en.html]
On April 27, the administrative court of Almada, Portugal, declared a
550, 000 Euro contract between Microsoft and the municipality of Almada
to be illegal. The technical specifications of the competition launched
by the municipality prevented any company other than Microsoft and their
partners to submit a proposal.
This ruling is especially significant as it clarifies that a widely used
procurement procedure is illegal. The procedure specified the name of
Microsoft products instead of their general functional and technical
requirements.
Unfair tendering practices in Portugal have been repeatedly denounced by
FSFE's Associate Organisation ANSOL [1] and the Portuguese association
ESOP [2], who brought the case to court. They violate fundamental rules
of fair competition and systematically exclude companies that provide
services based on Free Software.
FSFE welcome the court's decision, and calls on other European national
courts to continue to systematically annul similarly discriminatory
contracts.
[1] https://ansol.org/
[2] http://www.esop.pt/
== More information ==
- The court's decision
https://fsfe.org/documents/court-act-portugal.pdf
- ESOP's press release about the ruling
http://www.esop.pt/court-annuls-public-tender-for-microsoft-
software-in-the-municipality-of-almada/
- Discriminatory practices continue to plague IT public procurement
across Europe (Open Forum Europe)
http://www.openforumeurope.org/openprocurement
- FSFE's Contribution to the European Commission consultation on the
modernisation of European Union public procurement policy
https://fsfe.org/activities/policy/eu/20110418.ProcurementConsultation.FSFE…
- FSFE's work to improve procurement in Finland
http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20120619-01.en.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in the
information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the furthering of
Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy.
Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, securing Free
Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= German Parliament says: Stop Granting Software Patents =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130422-01.en.html]
The German Parliament, the Bundestag, has adopted a joint motion against
software patents. The resolution urges the German government to take steps to
limit the granting of patents on computer programs.
In the resolution [1], the Parliament says that patents on software restrict
developers from exercising their copyright privileges, including the right to
distribute their programs as Free Software. Patents help to create monopolies
in the software market, and hurt innovation and job creation. The Parliament
calls on the German government to make sure that Free Software development is
not restricted by patents.
"Software patents are harmful in every way, and are useless at promoting
innovation", says Karsten Gerloff, President of the Free Software Foundation
Europe. "We urge the German government to act on this resolution as soon as
possible, and relieve software developers from the needless patent-related
costs and risks under which they are currently suffering."
Software patents [2] are illegal under the European Patent Convention.
Nevertheless, the European Patent Office has granted tens of thousands of
patents covering software. As a result, software developers constantly risk
being accused of patent infringement. This causes legal uncertainty which is
costly for large companies, and potentially deadly for small ones.
The Parliament's resolution reminds the government that, under the EU's
Computer Programs Directive, software is covered by copyright, not patents. It
calls on the government to finally put the directive's "copyright approach"
into practice, and make German law more concrete in this regard. It also
points out that the restrictions which patents impose are incompatible with
the most widely used Free Software licenses.
For any future initiative to reform European rules on copyright and patents,
the Parliament asks the German government to make sure that developers'
economic exploitation rights for their programs are not restricted by patents.
The government should also push to ensure that software is covered by
copyright alone, and that patent offices (including the European Patent
Office) stop granting patents on software.
== Contact ==
Karsten Gerloff,
Free Software Foundation Europe
President
<gerloff(a)fsfeurope.org>
+49 176 9690 4298
== More information: ==
- Joint Motion approved by the Bundestag (in German, PDF) [2].
[1] http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/130/1713086.pdf
- Background on software patents
[2] http://fsfe.org/campaigns/swpat/swpat.en.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in the
information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the furthering of
Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy.
Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, securing Free
Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= How to break free from Skype - Avoid being locked in as Microsoft turns off
Windows Messenger ==
[read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130402-01.en.html]
On April 8, Microsoft will discontinue its Windows Messenger service. All
current users will be switched to Skype. The Free Software Foundation Europe
advises former users of Windows Messenger to take this as an opportunity to
embrace Open Standards [1] such as Jabber (XMPP) instead of switching to Skype.
"Crucial technology should not be controlled by a single entity, but instead
rely on the sort of Open Standards that have made the Internet great" says
Matthias Kirschner of FSFE. "MSN users should switch to Open Standard
technologies, like the XMPP protocol, and Free Software chat programs [2]."
The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP, previously called
Jabber) is widely deployed across the Internet. This standard is not closed or
secret; it is governed by an independent foundation with many stakeholders
[3]. It can be implemented in any software, and not only gives users the
choice of which client to use, but also which servers to trust. By switching
all users to Skype, Microsoft is replacing one locked down technology with
another. Acquired by Microsoft in 2011, the proprietary Skype software is
widely used for audio and video communication, as well as chatting. Its
workings are secret and substantial efforts are made to prevent reverse
engineering [4].
Skype's services have serious drawbacks. Their closed,
secured-through-obscurity [5] protocol takes freedom away from users. Skype's
technology forces people to join the walled garden in order to keep
communicating with others, and locks them in. It also makes oversight and
checks by communities or independent experts nearly impossible.
"Microsoft and Skype have absolute control over all communications going
through their network," says FSFE's Torsten Grote. "Once aggregated, the power
given to Skype by each individual user endangers freedom on a global scale.
Skype is already abusing this power with attacks on privacy [6], data
retention [7], censorship [8/8b] and eavesdropping [9]." The ability to
communicate freely is vital, and this is just what Open Standards-driven
communication methods such as XMPP provide. People that have the ability to
run their own XMPP server are strongly encouraged to do so. The more
distributed the XMPP network is, the more resistant it is to censorship and
failures.
People who prefer not to run their own server are invited to use an XMPP
service provider that they trust. FSFE, for example, provides a XMPP server
for all their Fellows. "The technology that we rely on should never be
controlled by only one entity. Ideally we all control it together. We should
be careful not to build new walled gardens." says Grote. "Most companies
already agree on XMPP. Only the companies that want to lock-in their users go
their own way on this. Even Facebook uses XMPP, but unfortunately they still
don't allow their users to talk to people outside of Facebook."
How to move to a Free Software chat solution based on Open Standards :
1. Download a free client [2]
2. Install it and start it
3. If you don't have an existing XMPP account, log in to one of the
many public XMPP services [10] using your preferred username. Your client will
automatically create the account
4. Add your contacts
5. Start chatting with others on the XMPP network!
Contact information:
Torsten Grote
Torsten.Grote(a)fsfe.org
+491736319870
[1] http://fsfe.org/activities/os/def.en.html
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Free_XMPP_clients
[3] http://xmpp.org/
[4] http://secdev.org/conf/skype_BHEU06.pdf
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_through_obscurity
[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/technology/internet/02skype.html?_r=0
[7] http://www.skype.com/en/legal/privacy/#collectedInformation
[8] http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/875630d4-cef9-11da-925d-0000779e2340.html
[8b]
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57573243-83/how-skype-monitors-and-censors…
[9]
http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Speculation-over-back-door-in-Sk…
[10] http://xmpp.net/
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
= Document Freedom Day from Brussels to Taiwan: Open Standards
celebrated in 30 countries =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130327-02.en.html ]
In 30 countries around the world, activists are celebrating Open
Standards on today's Document Freedom Day, an annual campaign to promote
Open Standards. More than 50 groups are hosting events around the world,
from Brussels to Nicaragua to Taiwan.
Open Standards are crucial to ensure that different computer systems can
work together, and that users can access documents regardless of the
computing platform or device they use. They are the foundation of the
Internet and the World Wide Web.
"Markets for digital products such as audiobooks and cloud documents
have grown dramatically. Open Standards let users break free from vendor
lock-in and corporate control," said Sam Tuke, Campaign Manager at the
Free Software Foundation Europe.
This year the campaign focuses on web-streaming technologies. "In 2012
trail-blazing Open Standards advocates introduced thousands of people to
better standards" said Erik Albers, Community Manager. "This time, we
are encouraging people to switch to HTML5 technologies".
The campaign calls on websites to replace Flash with Open
Standards-based HTML5 technologies. Activists are reporting
Flash-dependent web pages and donating to educational packs including
blacked-out "Flash Player required" glasses, illustrating the exclusive
and inaccessible nature of closed formats for media streaming.
Document Freedom Day 2012 is facilitated by the Free Software Foundation
Europe, and supported by campaign sponsors Google and openSUSE.
== About Document Freedom Day ==
Document Freedom Day (DFD) campaigns to celebrate information
accessibility and introduce non-technical audiences to Open Standards.
Open Standards are a basic condition for freedom and choice in
software; ensuring the freedom to access data, and the freedom to
build Free Software to read and write information. Started in 2008,
the campaign last year had 54 events worldwide. It will happen on 27th
March.
http://documentfreedom.org
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= taz.die tageszeitung receives Document Freedom Germany Award =
[Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130327-01.en.html ]
The German newspaper taz.die tageszeitung (TAZ) receives this year's Document
Freedom award. With this award, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and
the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) honour
organisations that make exemplary use of Open Standards.
The TAZ receives the Document Freedom award because it delivers its electronic
paper to its subscribers in a choice of open formats, and without digital
restrictions (DRM). "We are awarding the TAZ with the Document Freedom Award
for their longstanding commitment to Open Standards and continuos efforts in
offering their newspaper without restrictions" says Erik Albers, Fellowship
Coordinator Berlin.
TAZ subscribers can receive their paper in HTML, PDF, ePub, and even plain
text formats. HTML files form the basis of the World Wide Web. The Portable
Document Format (PDF) was published as a standard by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 2008. Adobe has granted anyone the
right to make and distribute PDF files without restrictions. Plain text files
(.txt) can easily be read or opened by any thousands of applications,
independent of any platform, product, or vendor. "Plain text files have great
benefits for libraries," highlights Elisabeth Klein, a humanities scholar with
close connections to academic libraries in Germany. "They can offer easy
access to works using a lot of different devices. Users and researchers can
efficiently search and analyse them."
ePub is an Open Standard for electronic books. Rather than being bound to a
particular vendor, users can open files with the .epub extension with a wide
range of programs and devices. "We use Free and Open formats, because we don't
like to put our readers in a cage - even it it's made of gold. Only by using
Open Standards without DRM we are able to spread TAZ news media as widely as
possible" says Ralf Klever, Head of IT in the TAZ.
Stephan Uhlmann, FFII board member, adds: "We congratulate TAZ for their firm
stance on the usage of Open Standards. The TAZ has a history of covering
contemporary political movements very closely, which makes this an important
contribution to preserve this documentation in open and accessible document
formats for future generations."
Document Freedom Awards are given annually on Document Freedom Day - the
international day for Open Standards. Previous winners include 1&1 Internet
AG, tagesschau.de and Deutschland Radio.
Press pictures of the award ceremony: https://wiki.fsfe.org/DFD-2013-Berlin
== About Document Freedom Day ==
Document Freedom Day (DFD) campaigns to celebrate information
accessibility and introduce non-technical audiences to Open Standards.
Open Standards are a basic condition for freedom and choice in
software; ensuring the freedom to access data, and the freedom to
build Free Software to read and write information. Started in 2008,
the campaign last year had 54 events worldwide. It will happen on 27th
March.
http://documentfreedom.org
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= Document Freedom Day: 2013 Event registration now open =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130226-01.en.html ]
Today event registration opens for Document Freedom Day 2013, March
27th. Local teams can add details of their activities to
DocumentFreedom.org[1], and have them marked on the global campaign
map[2].
Last week 50 promotional packs were dispatched to hackerspaces to kick
start event preparations. They contain posters, fliers, stickers, and
advice, including how to apply for financial support. Packs are now also
available to order online.
"Last year trail-blazing Open Standards advocates introduced thousands
of people to better standards" said Sam Tuke, Campaign Manager. "Teams
now have more resources at their disposal, and fresh ideas including
switching from Adobe Flash to HTML5 technologies".
"Markets for digital products such as audiobooks and cloud documents
have grown dramatically in recent months, but without Open Standards
customers are victims of vendor lock-in and anti-consumer market
control" said Erik Albers, Community Manager, Free Software Foundation
Europe.
This year the campaign aims to have more events, in additional
locations. In 2012[3]groups of volunteers ran 54 events in 23 different
countries, including Brussels, Colombia, and Indonesia.
1. http://documentfreedom.org
2. http://www.documentfreedom.org/events/events.html
3. http://www.documentfreedom.org/news/2012/news-20120403-01.en.html
== About Document Freedom Day ==
Document Freedom Day (DFD) campaigns to celebrate information
accessibility and introduce non-technical audiences to Open Standards.
Open Standards are a basic condition for freedom and choice in
software; ensuring the freedom to access data, and the freedom to
build Free Software to read and write information. Started in 2008,
the campaign last year had 54 events worldwide. It will happen on 27th
March.
http://documentfreedom.org
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= FSFE asks to show your love for Free Software! =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130212-01.en.html ]
On February 14th Free Software Foundation Europe asks all Free Software
users to show their appreciation for Free Software. FSFE suggests to
take this day as an opportunity to say "thank you" to one of the
dedicated hard-working people in the Free Software community.
"Every day, we use Free Software and often take it for granted. We write
bug reports, tell others how they should improve their software, or ask
them for new features - and often we are not shy about criticising. So,
to let the people in Free Software receive a positive feedback at least
once a year, there is the 'I love Free Software day'." says Matthias
Kirschner, who initiated the FSFE's#ilovefs campaign[1].
For the"I love Free Software Day"[2]the FSFE has several suggestions how
to show your love to the people behind Free Software, including:
- write an e-mail/letter, (micro-)blog post, to contributors expressing
how much you like what they are doing
- buy your favourite contributor a drink. Or buy someone else a drink
and while enjoying it, tell her/him about your favourite Free Software
application!
- give a contributor a hug (ask for permission first)
- take a picture of yourself showing your feelings for Free Software,
and post them online.
- Donate to FSFE[3]or another Free Software initiative[4]to express your
gratitude. They depend on your contribution to continue their work. So
check out your favourite organisation and make a donation. You can be
sure they will love you back.
- Finally you can help spread the love by sharing the campaign
banners[5], by e-mail, (micro)blog or by spreading through any social
network (please use the hashtag #ilovefs for this).
"We want you to help us, to make this day the day where everybody
says*'thank you'*to the people behind Free Software", adds Matthias
Kirschner.
1. http://ilovefs.org
2. http://ilovefs.org
3. http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.en.html
4. http://wiki.fsfe.org/DonateToFreeSoftwareProjects
5. http://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/2012/banners.en.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= European Parliament adopts deeply flawed unitary patent, gives up
power over innovation policy =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121211-01.html ]
Today, the European Parliament has adopted a proposal to create a patent
with unitary effect for Europe. This decision will leave Europe with a
patent system that is both deeply flawed and prone to overreach. It also
ends democratic control of Europe's innovation policy.
"We are disappointed that so many MEPs were prepared to throw Europe's
researchers and innovators under the bus just to achieve a deal, any
deal" says Karsten Gerloff, President of the Free Software Foundation
Europe. "It is natural that after nearly four decades of discussions on
a single patent system for Europe, most of those involved simply want
the debate to end. But we would have expected more of our elected
representatives."
== Intense criticism from all sides ==
In adopting the proposal, MEPs chose to disregard intense criticism of
the proposal from all sides of the debate. Patent lawyers[1],
independent legal experts[2], SMEs[3]and civil society groups such as
FSFE all voiced their concerns to MEPs ahead of the vote. FSFE
recognises the important work done by some MEPs, in particular the
Greens/EFA, in informing their colleagues about the serious flaws in the
proposal.
1. http://ipkitten.blogspot.de/2012/12/unitary-patent-deja-vu-council-debate.h…
2. http://www.ip.mpg.de/en/pub/publications/opinions/unitary_patent_package.cfm
3. http://www.april.org/en/against-software-patents-460-companies-demand-impro…
With this decision, the European Parliament has essentially given up its
power to shape Europe's innovation policy. That power will instead fall
to the European Patent Office, which has a track record of awarding
monopoly powers on the widest possible range of subject matter.
"We are alarmed to see both legislative and executive power in the hands
of a single agency," says Karsten Gerloff. "The separation of powers is
a fundamental principle of democracy. We regret that in today's vote,
many MEPs were prepared to give this up in exchange for an ill-conceived
compromise."
== Software patents, fragmentation and confusion ==
The text adopted today will lead to fragmentation of jurisdiction and of
jurisprudence across the European Union. Creating divergence and
confusion, the proposal will make the patent system much harder to
navigate for small and medium enterprises. The European Patent Office
will have much greater leeway to continue its practice of granting
patents on software. This will harm competition and innovation, and
create unnecessary risks for businesses and software developers. It is
also likely that the adopted text will lead to more intense patent
litigation in Europe, including by patent trolls.
FSFE is also concerned about the lack of a research exception and of a
provision for compulsory licenses. According to the Max Planck Institute
for "Intellectual Property", the envisioned patent court is incompatible
with European Union law[4]. These fundamental flaws mean that
considerable uncertainty remains about the way in which the patent
system will operate in future.
4. http://www.ip.mpg.de/en/pub/publications/opinions/unitary_patent_package.cfm
== Next steps ==
According to the European Parliament's website[5], "the international
agreement creating a unified patent court will enter into force on 1
January 2014 or after thirteen contracting states ratify it, provided
that UK, France and Germany are among them. The other two acts would
apply from 1 January 2014, or from the date when the international
agreement enters into force, whichever is the latest. Spain and Italy
are currently outside the new regime, but could decide to join in at any
time."
5. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20121210IPR04506/ht…
=== More information: ===
- Overview of issues with the unitary patent package[6]
- Resources on the unitary patent package[7]
6. http://fsfe.org/campaigns/swpat/current/unitary-patent.en.html
7. https://www.unitary-patent.eu/
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= First, do no harm: European Parliament must delay vote on unitary
patent =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121208-01.en.html ]
The European Parliament is about to vote on a "unitary patent" for
Europe in its plenary session on December 11. The proposal currently on
the table is widely known to have serious legal and practical problems.
In the light of these problems, Free Software Foundation Europe urges
the Parliament's members to delay the vote until a better solution can
be worked out.
Under the current proposal, the Parliament would agree to give up its
power to shape Europe's innovation policy. This is a dangerous
proposition. Knowledge and innovation are crucial to our future, and we
cannot simply delegate their management to a technocratic body such as
the European Patent Organisation. Europe's political institutions have
to have the final say over innovation policy. This is a responsibility
which MEPs cannot shirk.
"MEPs must not saddle Europe's innovators with a rotten compromise.
Innovation is a key part of our common future, and it is too important
to be gambled away in a hasty decision," says Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's
President.
The political process that has led up to the current proposal has
suffered from a marked lack of transparency. The European Parliament
still has not published the text of the inter-instutional agreement
which it reached with the Council on November 19.
"We are deeply alarmed that such a crucial text may be ramrodded through
Parliament before MEPs and the interested public have had a chance to
properly consider the text," says Gerloff.
The most important/practical problems/with the current package:
- Instead of providing uniformity and transparency for market
participants, the current proposal will create/divergence and
confusion/. It will be hard for anyone to obtain clarity on how a
patent may be used, or where its powers end.
- /Lack of limitations and exceptions/puts Europeans'freedom to innovate
at risk. There is no provision for compulsory licenses, posing a grave
danger to public welfare. The lack of a research exception puts a
millstone of risk around the neck of Europe's scientists.
- -/Small and medium-sized enterprises/are the backbone of Europe's
economy. If this wrong-headed compromise is accepted, they will bear
the brunt of the resulting problems. This is not something that Europe
can afford, much less in the midst of an economic crisis.
The most important/legal problems/with the current package:
- The compromise would lead to a/fragmentation of the internal market/,
as patents would not be uniformly enforceable across all EU member
states. Additionally, there would be four overlapping levels of
patents existing side by side. This will inevitably create substantial
confusion and business risks for innovators and companies.
- A proliferation of courts that may handle patent litigation will
inevitably lead to a/fragmentation of jurisprudence/. This will even
further confuse anyone who comes into contact with the patent system,
increase the costs of litigation, and make patent risks even harder to
calculate for businesses.
- The envisioned Unified Patent Court is/incompatible with European
law/. Europe's policy makers have failed to address the problems
highlighted by the European Court of Justice in its Opinion 1/09
(March 2011). Even the Parliament's own Legal Services department has
doubts about the package's legality.
A package which leaves such significant problems unaddressed is not fit
to be adopted by responsible lawmakers. Policy makers are keen to put
this hotly contested issue behind them. But this desire must not lead
them to rush into an ill-considered compromise with numerous known
problems, in the face of widespread opposition from the patent system's
stakeholders.
FSFE joins large parts of the innovation community, and in particular
the Max-Planck-Institute[1] in urging the Parliament to reconsider the
unitary patent package. Until a better solution can be achieved, MEPs
should heed the age-old principle: First, do no harm.
1.
http://www.ip.mpg.de/en/pub/publications/opinions/unitary_patent_package.cfm
=== More information: ===
- Max Planck Institute for "Intellectual Property" and Competition Law:
The Unitary Patent Package: Twelve Reasons for Concern:
http://www.ip.mpg.de/en/pub/publications/opinions/unitary_patent_package.cfm
- Overview of issues with the unitary patent package:
http://fsfe.org/campaigns/swpat/current/unitary-patent.en.html
- Resources on the unitary patent package:
https://www.unitary-patent.eu/
== Contact ==
Karsten Gerloff
President, Free Software Foundation Europe
E-Mail: gerloff at fsfeurope.org <https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/press-release>
Phone: +49 176 9690 4298
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE. http://fsfe.org/
= FSFE Newsletter - December 2012 =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201212.en.html ]
== UK: Small and major steps towards more Free Software ==
On 7th November, several political candidates standing in the Manchester
Central By-election participated in the"Manchester Digital Debate"[1],
organised by our UK coordinator Sam Tuke and the Open Rights Group
(ORG). The event is part of FSFE's "Ask Your Candidates" campaign, which
aims to provide an opportunity to engage (local) politicians with
digital concerns that they typically do not address.
1. http://manchester.openrightsgroup.org/2012/10/24/manchester-digital-debate
Besides these important steps at the local level, last month the UK
government has released a new Open Standards policy. In future all UK
Government bodies must comply with the Open Standards Principles or
apply for an exemption. FSFE welcomed this step[2], and particularly its
strong Open Standards definition. It also includes another long-standing
FSFE demand: to take into account the software exit costs. From now on,
when UK government bodies buy a software solution, they have to consider
in the price a calculation of what it will cost them to get out of this
solution, in the future. This means that government bodies could not
simply avoid buying Free Software solutions because they are locked into
one particular vendor's proprietary file formats. FSFE president Karsten
Gerloff analysed the new policy in detail[3].
2. http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121101-02.en.html
3. http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/2012/11/01/the-uks-new-open-standards-policy/
== Secure Boot: FSFE welcomes German Government's White Paper on "Secure
Boot" ==
We want to make sure that you are in control of your computing. This
control is, currently, restricted by "Secure Boot". On 19th November, as
the first government, the German Ministry of the Interior published a
white paper about "Trusted Computing" and "Secure Boot"[4]. The white
paper states that "device owners must be in complete control of (able to
manage and monitor) all the trusted computing security systems of their
devices." This has been one of FSFE's key demands from the beginning of
the debate. The document continues that "delegating this control to
third parties requires conscious and informed consent by the device
owner".
4. http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Themen/OED_Verwaltung/Inform…
Another FSFE demand is also addressed by the government's white paper:
Before purchasing a device, buyers must be informed concisely about the
technical measures implemented in this device, as well as the specific
usage restrictions and its consequences for the owner: "Trusted
computing security systems must be deactivated (opt-in principle)" when
devices are delivered. "Based on the necessary transparency with regard
to technical features and content of trusted computing solutions, device
owners must be able to make responsible decisions when it comes to
product selection, start-up, configuration, operation and shut-down."
And "Deactivation must also be possible later (opt- out function) and
must not have any negative impact on the functioning of hard- and
software that does not use trusted computing functions."
Though all of what the German Government stated, should be self-evident,
unfortunately it is not. FSFE will continue talking to other governments
about this issue, to improve their understanding of the political and
economic consequences of this technology.
== German Cities: Two good news and a bad one ==
First the bad news: The city of Freiburg has decided to switch back,
from OpenOffice.org, to Microsoft Office. The study they based their
decision on was published one week before the decision, which we and
other Free Software organisations had criticised before[5]. Unfortunate
news, but as IBM's Rob Weir wrote in his article[6]in the Free Software
community we tend to look at the bad news, and forget about the good
news.
5. http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121116-01.en.html
6. http://www.robweir.com/blog/2012/11/a-tale-of-two-cities.html
So, some good news: on the one hand, the City of Leipzig has just
migrated 4200 working stations to OpenOffice (DE)[7], and on the other
hand, Munich announced they are saving over 10 Million Euro[8]with Free
Software. If you want to be updated with good news from the public
administrations in Europe, the European Commission's Join-up Portal[9]is
a good place to check out.
7. http://www.it-muenchen-blog.de/2012/10/leipzig-auf-kurs-zum-freien-officepa…
8. http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Linux-brings-over-EUR10-million-savi…
9. https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/news
== Something completely different ==
- LWN has a good summary of Karsten's talk "All watched over by machines
of loving grace"[10], which is about society, power, and control.
Besides, Karsten recommended the German authorities to publish the
code of mobile phone apps[11].
- Our Finnish team coordinator Otto Kekäläinen and the Danish hacker
Ole Tange received the 2012 Nordic Free Software Award[12]. With this
recognition, the Swedish Association for Free Software and Free
Culture ( FFKP, Föreningen Fri Kultur och Programvara[13]) honours
people and projects who have made important contributions to software
freedom. Congratulations Otto!
- "Fuck you, this is my culture!". This statement ended Amelia
Andersdotter's (Swedish Pirate Party) speech at the Internet
Governance Forum[14]wearing a European Parliament Free Software User
Group (EPFSUG)[15]t-shirt.
- Matija Šuklje, Jürgen Kneissl, Peter Bubestinger and Martin
Gollowitzer (all FSFE) were interviewed[16]by Radio Orange about Free
Software, software patents and other connected topics. In 2010 Radio
Orange was awarded with the German Document Freedom Award[17], because
they provide OGG Vorbis for all their radio shows.
- Also on software patents, Richard Stallman wrote an interesting
article on the WIRED[18], suggesting to change the effect of patents:
"We should legislate that developing, distributing, or running a
program on generally used computing hardware does not constitute
patent infringement."
- Former KDE president Aaron Seigo pleads to end the cults of
personality in Free Software[19].
- Mark Lindhout published the default Fellowship blog theme Pome on his
Github account[20], and invites everyone to contribute!
- Do you remember the time of the browser bundling? Or the Samba
antitrust case[21]? You might also enjoy XKCD's comic strip named
"Microsoft"[22].
- From the planet aggregation[23]:
- Looking for a self-made Christmas present for your grandmother? What
about a one button audiobook player? Michael Clemens described how he
build such a device[24]with a Raspberry Pi for his 90 year old
Grandma.
- FSF to begins to accept scanned assignments from Germany[25], and
Werner Koch, author of GnuPG, wrote the article"The tragedy of GNU
copyright assignments"[26], where he asks if the GNU hackers really
have the freedom they demand from others?
- Erik Albers wrote about his experience with Ubuntu running on a Nexus
7[27]while he and Torsten Grote gave a Free Your Android workshop at
SFSCON in Bolzano. Albert Dengg gave talks in Austria, and in our
upcoming events[28]you will find upcoming Free Your Android[29]related
events.
- Otto wrote about the WOW effect[30], and a wishlist for future mobile
devices while Henri Bergius wrote an extensive blog post about Jolla's
Sailfish OS"[31].
- How to open computed tomography (CT) scan pictures (DICOM)? Our
president, Karsten Gerloff, broke his foot[32]just for you to find
out.
- What can you learn out of the Skolelinux pilot in Rhineland
Palatinate? Guido Arnold wrote a summary about Kurt Gramlich's[33]in
English, so more people can learn what happened after the first
euphoria and the reasons why the pilot may be considered a failure.
- There were several reports from events: Erik Albers organised the Free
Your Android workshop during FSCONS[34], where Fellow Bjarni Einarsson
rescued an (almost) bricked phone. Ana wrote about her high
expectations to FSCONS[35]and how a perfect weekend looks like.
- Isabel Drost wrote 11 reports about the ApacheCon Europe[36],
- Mirko Böhm reported (in German) about the summit of Newthinking ( day
1[37], and day 2[38]), and about our workshop at an event from the
Green party about Internet Policy[39].
- And finally, read Leena Simon's blog post[40]to find out why South
Park failed on copyright.
10. lwn.net/Articles/523537/
11. http://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/advocates-open-source-recommend-german-auth…
12. http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121112-01.en.html
13. https://ffkp.se/
14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsoGMT49v_o
15. http://epfsug.eu/
16. http://sendungsarchiv.o94.at/get.php?id=094pr6519
17. http://fsfe.org/news/2010/news-20100324-01.en.html
18. http://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/11/richard-stallman-software-patents
19. http://aseigo.blogspot.com.br/2012/11/ending-cults-of-personality-in-free.h…
20. https://github.com/marklindhout/Pome
21. http://fsfe.org/activities/ms-vs-eu/ms-vs-eu.en.html
22. https://xkcd.com/1118/
23. http://planet.fsfe.org
24. http://blogs.fsfe.org/clemens/2012/10/30/the-one-button-audiobook-player/
25. http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/fsf-to-begin-accepting-scanned-assignmen…
26. http://rem.eifzilla.de.ipv4.sixxs.org/archives/2012/11/27/the-tragedy-of-gn…
27. http://blogs.fsfe.org/eal/2012/11/21/my-experience-with-ubuntu-running-on-a…
28. http://fsfe.org/events/
29. http://freeyourandroid.org
30. http://seravo.fi/2012/11/the-wow-effect
31. http://bergie.iki.fi/blog/jolla-sailfish/
32. http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/2012/11/26/broke-my-foot/
33. http://blogs.fsfe.org/guido/2012/11/skolelinux-pilot-in-rhineland-palatinat…
34. http://blogs.fsfe.org/eal/2012/11/15/free-society-conference-and-nordic-sum…
35. http://blogs.fsfe.org/anaghz/2012/11/22/fscons-elation/
36. http://blog.isabel-drost.de/index.php/archives/category/events-menu/apache-…
37. http://creative-destruction.me/2012/11/16/son12-day-1-2/
38. http://creative-destruction.me/2012/11/16/son12-day-2/
39. https://netzpolitik.org/2012/nk12-produzent-und-konsument-im-netz/
40. http://leena.de/south-parks-genius-website-copyright-fail/
== Get active: New year, new donations ==
It is the end of the year, and like FSFE's financial officer Reinhard
Müller[41]your editor would like to start 2013 with a good money
buffer. So this month, please help us to fill our war chest:
41. http://wiki.fsfe.org/Fellows/reinhard
- If you are not yet a Fellow, please join now[42]and support us with
your donation.
- Check out our support programs[43]to find out if the webshops you
already use for your Christmas shopping are listed there, and install
our plugins. (If you need some suggestions for books, take a look at
your editor's recommended books about Free Software[44].
- And please convince your employer to support us[45], and join our list
of donors[46]. (If you do not want to talk to your employer on your
own, please contact us[47], and suggest whom we should talk to.)
42. https://fellowship.fsfe.org/ams/join.php?ams=join
43. http://wiki.fsfe.org/SupportPrograms
44. http://blogs.fsfe.org/mk/?p=399
45. http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.en.html
46. http://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus.en.html
47. http://fsfe.org/contact/contact.en.html
Thanks to all the Fellows[48]and donors[49]who enable our work,
48. http://fellowship.fsfe.org/join
49. donate/thankgnus.en.html
Matthias Kirschner- FSFE
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