[SWLUG] Fwd: Mandrakelinux NWL: EU Software Patent Legislation: a real threat for Linux and Open Source

[Dafydd Walters]

Jonathan Wright wrote:
> Not sure if it's genuine, although I received it aswell - it got caught
> in my spam filter (8.4 rating!). Wouldn't surprise me if it was true
though.

Unfortunately, it's most certainly true, and it will be a major slap in the
face for European democracy if the Council of Ministers ignore the will of
the European Parliament on Monday.  What's the point in voting for MEPs if
the amendments made by these democratically elected representatives is cast
aside by the Council of Ministers?

It will be a very dark day for everyone involved in Free and Open Source
software if the new text is adopted. Prepare for nasty patent battles with
Microsoft, as well as parasitic Intellectual Property companies that will be
able to exist purely to extort money on the back of frivolous software
patents.

  http://swpat.ffii.org/group/todo/index.en.html

There's not much time, but you can still contact your MP.  Here's some
advice from the FFII web site:

How to communicate effectively
* Communicate rather than just let off steam!
* Select a representative of your area or your profession.
* You must be willing to spend time to follow up on each person to whom you
write. Have phone numbers ready before you write. Don't just send a
braindump. Don't insult. Don't spam.
* Make it short. Ask questions that your rep will want to answer. Write
clearly and politely what you want your rep to do. Put everything else into
an appendix. The appendix can contain many documents.
* Explain what is at stake for you. Don't speculate too much about what
might be at stake for the public.

With so little time left, probably the most important single point to get
across is to suggest that the MP should support the directive as approved by
the European Parliament, and ask the government to oppose any decisionmaking
by the Council that has not received majority support from the national
parliament.