[FSFE PR][EN] FSFE launches list of recommended Free Software lawyers

[Joachim Jakobs]

FSFE launches list of recommended Free Software lawyers

	FSFE has launched a list of recommended Free Software lawyers 
	by naming Dr. Till Jaeger and Carlo Piana as knowledgeable and 
	reliable Free Software legal experts in Germany and Italy 
	respectively.  

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is committed to working 
with lawyers throughout Europe to maximise the legal security of Free 
Software and is aware that as the community matures it is important to 
be able to locate professional legal advice.  For this reason FSFE has 
introduced a new policy for recommending legal experts in individual 
countries. 

The FSFE policy for recommending legal experts can be found on the 
Freedom Task Force (FTF) website [1], along with details of the 
individuals that FSFE recommends. 

"The key thing is to help answer the question "who do I talk to?" for 
people using Free Software," says Shane Coughlan, FSFE Freedom Task 
Force coordinator.  "We have worked with both Dr Till Jaeger and Carlo 
Piana for several years and have great confidence in their ability.  
We want to express this confidence in public so that Free Software 
users will have a clear point of contact for legal advice."

"Supporting the growth of a strong network of legal experts in Free 
Software has been on our agenda for several years now. Establishing 
the Freedom Task Force was one logical step along that way," explains 
Georg Greve, FSFE's president. "We will gladly continue supporting 
projects with the collective competency of our legal network and will 
take direct legal action on behalf of the projects that are part of 
our fiduciary programme. But we also wanted to make it easier for 
others with no direct connection to FSFE to find a legal expert they 
can have confidence in."

"Commercial Free Software has been growing in importance for years 
and I believe it's time to help formalise support for it" says Stefano 
Maffuli, FSFE Italy coordinator. "I'm delighted to recommend Carlo 
Piana as a point of contact for developers and companies seeking 
legal advice in Italy."

Dr. Till Jaeger is a partner in the Berlin law firm JBB RechtsanwÀlte.  
He represents FSFE in Germany and Harald Welte in GPL enforcement 
cases.  He is chair of the "Internationalization" subcommittee within 
the GPLv3 process.  Carlo Piana is a partner at the Milan law firm 
Studio Legale Tamos Piana & Partners.  Among other things, he 
represents FSFE and Samba in the Microsoft vs. EC Commission Antitrust 
case and lectures at the University of Milan.

Dr Till Jaeger can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: jaeger [at] jbb.de 	
Telephone: +49 30 443 765 0
Fax: +49 30 443 765 22
Post: JBB Rechtsanwalte, Christinenstrasse 18/19, 10119 Berlin, Germany.

Carlo Piana can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: carlo.piana [at] avvocatinteam.com
Telephone: +39 02 7000 6392
Fax: +39 02 7611 3344
Post: Studio Legale Tamos Piana & Partners, Palazzo dell'Elfo, Via Ciro 
Menotti 11, 20129 Milano, Italy

[1] www.fsfeurope.org/ftf

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.

Contact:

   You can reach the FSFE switchboard from:
    Belgium:     +32 2 747 03 57 ext 408
    Germany:     +49 700 373 38 76 73 ext 408
    Sweden:      +46 31 7802160 ext 408
    Switzerland: +41 43 500 03 66 ext 408
    UK:          +44 29 200 08 17 7 ext 408 

   Shane Coughlan, FTF Co-ordinator, FSFE extension: 408