Nyheder
German Parliament tells government to strictly limit patents on software
On Friday the 7th of June the German Parliament decided
upon a joint
motion to limit software patents (see English translation by
BIKT). The Parliament urges the German Government to take steps to
limit the granting of patents on computer programs. Software should
exclusively be covered by copyright, and the rights of the copyright
holders should not be devalued by third parties' software patents. The
only exception where patents should be allowed are computer programs which
replace a mechanical or electromagnetic component. In addition the
Parliament made clear that governmental actions related to patents must
never interfere with the legality of distributing Free Software.
Filing taxes without non-free software: Slovak company appeals fines
In a case of a Slovak company protesting against being forced to use non-free software to file taxes, a court has failed to rule on the substance of the case.
FSFE supporting EFF's formal objection
As reported in the our last newsletter, W3C wants to implement usage controls on the web. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) now published a formal objection to the HTML working group draft charter. Free Software Foundation Europe fully supports EFF's objections.
FSFE in German Parliament Hearing about Software Patents
In April the German Parliament (the 'Bundestag') has introduced a joint motion against software patents. It urges the German government to take steps to limit the granting of patents on computer programs. After the first hearing in Parliament, Matthias Kirschner was invited for FSFE as external expert to the legal committee meeting on May 13th. FSFE published a written statement and we published the notes of our oral presentation. There will be a second meeting of a committee and afterwards on the 6th of June the Parliament will vote upon the motion.
Arrangementer
Monthly Fellowship meeting in Vienna, Austria
21 June 2013
This month, the Vienna Fellowship meeting will be in
the Metalab, located in the
Rathausstraße 6 in the 1st district of Vienna. We'll be
there from 18:00, with agenda related discussions starting
at 19:00. As usual, this invitation is for everyone interested
in the FSFE or Free Software. We're looking forward to seeing
you there!
Discussion "How many cooks do we need in Free Software? Berlin, Germany
24 June 2013
On Monday 24th June the Bitkom working group for Free Software is
organising an event under the banner "Take home benefits". It will start at
10:00 and last until 17:15. At 16:00 Matthias Kirschner will take
part in a panel discussion about the question how many Free Software
organisations we need. Other participants on the panel moderated by Dr.
Oliver Diedrich (heise) are Peter Ganten (OSB Alliance), Richard Seibt
(OSBF e.V.), and Dr. Johannes Loxen (LA Software, BITKOM e.V.). The event
will take place in the Kalkscheune, Johannisstraße 2, 10117 Berlin.
Information about registration are available on the Bitkom
event page.
Libre Software Meeting (RMLL), Brussels
06 to 11 July 2013
From July 6-11, 2013, several thousand people will come to Brussels from all over Europe to participate in the Libre Software meeting, one of Europe's largest conferences for Free Software developers, technology entrepreneurs and civil society activists. FSFE will be present with two booths, a great panel discussion and a talk by Karsten Gerloff. Come and meet us!
Libre Software Meeting, Brussels, Panel discussion on Technology, Power and Freedom
09 July 2013
FSFE at the 14th edition of the Libre Software meeting in Brussels. On July 9 FSFE organises a discussion panel on Technology, Power and Freedom with some of the world's foremost advocates of digital freedom and leading members of the European Parliament (MEP) on digital issues. Participants will be Karsten Gerloff (FSFE), Eben Moglen (Columbia University), Judith Sargentini (MEP Greens/EFA), Christel Schaldemose (MEP S&D -tbc), Richard M Stallman (FSF), Nils Torvalds (MEP ALDE), Ioannis A. Tsoukalas (MEP EPP)