1. FSFE launches list of recommended Free Software lawyers 2. FSFE action on IPRED2 "Criminalisation" Directive 3. Transcript of Richard M. Stallman's speech in Brussels online 4. FSFE at A2K2 conference in Yale Law School 5. Georg Greve and Jonas Öberg in Belgrade, Serbia 6. Ivan Jelic joining European Core Team of FSFE 7. Merchandise available via web order 8. Get active: join the translation team!
1. FSFE launches list of recommended Free Software lawyers
The Free Software Foundation Europe has started to maintain a list of lawyers who are experienced an knowledgeable in the field of Free Software. With the work done within the Freedom Task Force, FSFE has already built up a track record of successful cooperation with professional lawyers. Building up this list of recommendations makes it possible for people outside the FSFE to benefit from these positive experiences.
http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/ftf/network.en.html
2. FSFE action on IPRED2 "Criminalisation" Directive
FSFE's Ciarán O'Riordan has been busy in Brussels and Strasbourg during April. The European Parliament has been discussing, and has since voted on, the European Commission's proposal to criminalise "attempting, aiding or abetting and inciting" practically all infringements of patents, copyright, and trademarks. O'Riordan has been explaining the harms this creates for society's general freedom to participate in software development, distibution, and commerce. In this, invaluable help was provided by the FSFE translators team. The result of the vote was that patents have been excluded and some minor safeguards have been added. More work will be required in the coming stages of this directive.
http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/ipred2/ipred2.en.html
3. Transcript of Richard M. Stallman's speech in Brussels online
FSFE has invited Richard Stallman, founder of the GNU project and head of the Free Software Foundation, to Brussels to present the latest draft of GPLv3. His speech was then transcribed by Ciarán O'Riordan and put online.
http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/brussels-rms-transcript.en.html
4. FSFE at A2K2 conference in Yale Law School
The Information Society Project of the Yale Law School organised its second conference on Access to Knowledge (A2K) with over 300 leading scholars and activists from over 40 countries. Instead of discussing issues of knowledge and information only from the perspective of monopolisation and limitations, A2K approaches the area from the question of rights and necessary access. Free Software plays a central role in this and FSFE president Georg Greve moderated the panel on technologists and their influence on society
5. Georg Greve and Jonas Öberg in Belgrade, Serbia
Organised by the Free Software Network (FSN) Serbia, FSFE president and vice-president Georg Greve and Jonas Öberg visited Belgrade to meet Free Software activists from Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia. In the evening, Georg Greve spoke about Free Software and its political influence on democracy and Jonas Öberg gave a talk on the SELF project and Free Software education at a local cultural center.
6. Ivan Jelic joining European Core Team of FSFE
Ivan Jelic, founder and chairman of the Free Software Network Serbia, is FSFE's latest addition to its European Core Team of committed volunteers. Ivan will be coordinating the Serbian Team of FSFE and also work on FSFE's system administration, one of the current bottlenecks.
7. Merchandise available via web order
T-shirts and other merchandise from FSFE has always been sold at various events and tradeshows. However, sometimes a booth runs out of a specific design or size, and people have repeatedly requested a way to order T-shirts online. The webmasters team has now created a new online order page with pictures, descriptions, and an overview of the available sizes.
http://www.fsfeurope.org/order/order.en.html
8. Get active: join the translation team!
The Free Software Foundation Europe is an international organisation. Having information available in as many languages as possible is essential to reach people all over Europe, and translating web pages, press releases, and other texts is a task for which FSFE depends heavily on the work of volunteers. There's always something to translate or to proofread, so if you want to support FSFE's work directly and efficiently, join the translation team!
http://www.fsfeurope.org/contribute/translators.en.html
You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters on http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html