[Fsfe-ie] IFSO Wiki updates

[IfsoWiki at ifso.ie]

 * DavidGolden SoftwarePatents/DraftPressReleaseTue, 28 Jun 2005 07:00:01 -0000 
     Developers of Free Software (and "open source software") will be particularly harmed if this directive is passed unamended.  If this directive legitimises the 43,000 unenforceable software patents that have none the less been granted by European Patent Office, it would be possible to find patent infringement in probably any complex piece of software - A study of granted patents in the US found that 283 patents could be used to initiate infringement court proceedings against users of the kernel of the GNU/Linux operating system.  The current text of the Software Patents Directive contains nothing to prevent similar patents from being filed and enforced in the EU.  
      
    - "It was disappointing to see Irish Software Association (ISA) declaring its support for this directive, and frankly amazing to discover some Irish lobbyist groups such as "ICT Ireland" have been publically claiming that it makes sense to legitimise the incorrectly granted software patents, using the very fact the EPO overstepped in granting patents as a justification for extending powers of patent enforcement to match, under a misleading banner of "ratification and harmonisation".  They've contributed to what will be a burden to every computer programmer.  The effects are likely to be negative for most of their members too.  Many ISA members including Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun and Oracle have previously publicised their heavy use of Free and Open Source Software, such as the GNU/Linux operating system and the Apache web server. The ISA's own web server presently appears to be running on GNU+Linux," said Strong. "If this directive is passed unamended, the livelihoods of both users and developers of the software running thousands of web servers, email servers and other vital services will be at risk."
    + "It was disappointing to see Irish Software Association (ISA) declaring its support for this directive, and frankly amazing to discover some Irish lobbyist groups such as "ICT Ireland" have been publically claiming that it makes sense to legitimise any incorrectly granted software patents, using the very fact the EPO overstepped in granting patents as a justification for extending patent enforceability to match, under a misleading banner of "ratification and harmonisation".  They've contributed to what will be a burden to every computer programmer.  The effects are likely to be negative for most of their members too.  Many ISA members including Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun and Oracle have previously publicised their heavy use of Free and Open Source Software, such as the GNU/Linux operating system and the Apache web server. The ISA's own web server presently appears to be running on GNU+Linux," said Strong. "If this directive is passed unamended, the livelihoods of both users and developers of the software running thousands of web servers, email servers and other vital services will be at risk."
      
      "Our message for businesses and software developers and users is: get in touch with your MEPs to let them know why you oppose software patents and that you need them to vote in support of the position keeping software truly free of patent monopoly restrictions," concluded Ciaran O'Riordan, speaking from Brussels on behalf of IFSO. URL: http://www.ifso.ie/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi/SoftwarePatents/DraftPressRelease?action=diff