[Beds] Software Patents - A Call to Arms

[Neil Darlow]

Hi All,

It has always been my intention to keep the Bedfordshire LUG entirely 
non-political however the recent manoeuvrings by the Irish Presidency on 
the issue of Software Patents has made this an issue too big to ignore.

If you have no political affiliation, and weren't planning to vote in the 
forthcoming European Elections of June 10th, I suggest you might 
consider voting for The Green Party or UK Independence Party - both of 
which are adopting an Anti-Software Patent stance.

Software Patents won't just affect the Free Software that we use today, 
they will affect the future of all software development: at best only 
increasing development cost significantly and at worst preventing some 
development entirely.

So please, use a non-vote as a vote against Software Patents. If your 
employer is in the business of software development, make him aware of 
the issues and solicit his vote also.

The following links provide information on Software Patent implications 
and the aforementioned parties:

http://www.ffii.org/
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/
http://www.independence.org.uk/

Thank you for your time.

Regards,
Neil Darlow M.Sc. - Beds LUGMaster