[ILUG-Social] Our future - software patents can kill us

[Peter Toft]

Allow me to introduce my self - I am chairman of the
major Danish LUG - SSLUG - with 6K members. I actually
know some of the Irish LUG people from a visit to
Dublin two years ago (great evening with many beers).
I hope that you allow me to discuss with you - we have
a major problem.

Please read this article
   http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/13942.html

The reason is that we need your government to resist to
the change of law that is supposed to be agreed on a
conference in the European Patent Office (EPO) in
November. The EPO wants to allow all patents on
computer software and business methods (Internet
stuff). This is utterly bad news friends - our source
code is out there - it takes the patent holders so
litte efford to stop Open Source programs. It happened
to the people making a GIF library. They got a notice
that they should stop or they would be sued - now they
support PNG instead (happy that this was an option for
them).

Linux and Open Source will suffer if we don't stop this
right now.

Please do your best to arrange meetings with the
parliament, the IEPTO and newspapers - we have to 
stop it now. I can give many URL's about why this is
important - but start at http://petition.eurolinux.org
and http://www.eurolinux.org.

And Ireland seems to vote for allowing software
patents. Friends - this is our future!!!

Please spead this email - and if I should have mailed 
to another list, please tell me so. I need your help.

My very best 

-- 
Peter Toft, Ph.D. [pto at sslug.dk] http://www.sslug.dk/~pto

"You don't win a battle by asking, `Will we win?' 
You win it by doing your best to win"
- Richard M Stallman

----> Visit http://petition.eurolinux.org <---