[Fsfe-ie] ComputerScope, patents frontpage, me quoted

[Ciaran O'Riordan]

There's an article about software patents on the front page
of ComputerScope magazine.  I'm quoted in the fourth paragraph:

    The acceptance of the amendments, says Ciaran O'Riordan,
    an Irish member of the Free Software Foundation, 'will 
    give Europe the patent law America wishes it had.  It
    gives developers the reasurance that if they are creating
    a program, they will not be infringing somebody else's
    patent'.

I spoke with the editor last monday, he contacted me after
Mel McWeeney forwarded him one of my list posts.  The editor
also read the two letters we sent to the MEPs.

The majority of the article is spent pointing out the problems
with software patents.  Hartmut Pilch of FFII is also quoted,
as is Braun Brelin "director of technologies for Dublin-based
open-source specialist, OpenApp".  (never heard of him/them.)

Only the last two paragraphs comments on the reaction from
the patenteers.  A BSA rep. is quoted as saying:

    'We are in favour of harmonising rules in Europe' he said,
    'For that reason we thought the EU Commission's original
    proposal was a good one.'  The amended wording, on the
    other hand, was 'highly questionable with regard to the
    EU's intellectual property obligations'.

I presume that by "obligations", he's hinting at the wholely false
claim that the WTOs TRIPS agreement requires patents on software.

Good publicity overall.  On the phone the editor agreed to quote
me as a "Free Software advocate", as I made clear I can't speak
for FSF, but no harm done I suppose.

(Minutes of last nights highly productive meeting soon/tonight)

-- 
Ciaran O'Riordan - http://www.compsoc.com/~coriordan/