[Upd-discuss] Europe: EU Software Patent Decisions, Demonstration and Press Conference Today (17.02.2005)
Zapopan Martin Muela-Meza
zapopanmuela@yahoo.com
Thu, 17 Feb 2005 03:18:26 -0800 (PST)
PRESS RELEASE FFII -- [ Europe / economy / ICT ]
==========================================================================
EU Software Patent Decisions, Demonstration and
Press
Conference Today
==========================================================================
Brussels, 17th February. -- Today, important
decisions on
the software
patent directive are taking place in Brussels.
The
European
Parliament's Conference of Presidents will decide
whether
the
procedure will be restarted. From all over
Europe,
software
developers and company representatives will join
forces
today to
demonstrate against software patents and against
the
undemocratic
manoevering of the Commission and Council. This
will be
followed by a
Press Conference.
The demonstrators will hand over a package of
bananas and a
letter to
the Commission and to the Council, one for each.
The
letters can be
found at
http://wiki.ffii.org/LtrFfiiCec050217En
http://wiki.ffii.org/LtrFfiiCons050217En
===========================================================================
Difficult Restart Decision in the European
Parliament
===========================================================================
At 11.00 the European Parliament's Conference of
Presidents
will deal
with the motion of the Legal Affairs Committee
and ask the
European
Commission for a renewed referral of the
directive to the
Parliament.
It is not certain that the Conference of
Presidents will
follow the
vote of the Legal Affairs Committee
(http://wiki.ffii.org/Restart050202En). Certain
forces
within the
Parliament are trying to interpret the rules in a
way that
reduces the
rights of the Parliament and its members as far
as
possible. The
Tabling Office did not want the Conference of
Presidents to
even
discuss the JURI motion. That they are
discussing it
nonetheless is
due to an initiative of the Green Group.
===========================================================================
Press Conference with Buzek, Liepitz, Gerkens et
al
===========================================================================
After the meeting of the Conference of
Presidents, there
will be Press
Conference in Hotel Renaissance, Rue de Parnasse
19,
Brussels (near
the EU parliament). For journalists, a lunch is
planned at
this
location, around 12:30. The press conference
will begin at
13:30.
Among the guests are MEP Jerzy Buzek (prime
minister of
Poland
1997-2001 and leading initiator of the restart
motion),
French Green
MEP Alain Liepitz and Arda Gerkens, the
originator of the
recent
motion in the Dutch Parliament.
Members of the Commission, Council and Parliament
as well
as journalists
are cordially invited to the conference.
==========================================================================
Decision in the German Parliament
==========================================================================
In the evening, there will be a discussion in the
German
Federal Parliament
(Bundestag) about software patents. The
Bundestag is
expected to adopt
a cross-partisan motion which criticises the
Council's
approach and backs
the position of the European Parliament. FFII
has
published a letter
to members of the Parlimanent that asks for
further
followup action
http://wiki.ffii.org/LtrFfiiMdb0502De
to ensure that this motion has an effect.
==========================================================================
Extra Information
==========================================================================
* Permanent URL of This Press Release
http://wiki.ffii.org/Demo050217En
* Website about FFII demonstrations
http://demo.ffii.org/
* Photos from this Demo
http://www.dhcp42.de/bxl0502/
* Thank Poland Ceremony yesterday in the Polish
Parliament
http://wiki.ffii.org/Sejm050216En
* CCIA: EU Patent Proposal Comes at a Cost of
Innovation
and Competition
http://ccianet.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=584&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
Industry group supported by large software
companies
warns against
software patents, backs Parliament's position
and restart
initiative.
* Microsoft: Give us Software Patents or we Move
Jobs Out
of Denmark
http://wiki.ffii.org/Navision050215En
* Dutch Parliament adopts motion to block
software patents
A-item
http://wiki.ffii.org/NlVot050210En
(contains references to today's press
conference guest
Arda Gerkens
==========================================================================
Contact
==========================================================================
Hartmut Pilch, phm@ffii.org, +49-89-18979927
(German/English/French)
Jonas Maebe, jmaebe@ffii.org, +32-485-36-96-45
(Dutch/English)
Benjamin Henrion, bhenrion@ffii.org,
+32-498-292771
(French/English)
Dieter Van Uytvanck, dietvu@ffii org,
+32-499-16-70-10 or
+31-6-275-879-10 (Dutch/English)
Erik Josefsson, erjos@ffii.org, +46-707-696567 or
+32-485-83-21-26
(Swedish/English)
Roman Muñoz, tatel@infonegocio.com +34-943341472
(Spanish)
==========================================================================
About the FFII -- http://www.ffii.org
==========================================================================
The Foundation for a Free Information
Infrastructure (FFII)
is a
non-profit association registered in several
European
countries, which
is dedicated to the spread of data processing
literacy.
FFII supports
the development of public information goods based
on
copyright, free
competition, open standards. More than 500
members, 1,200
companies
and 75,000 supporters have entrusted the FFII to
act as
their voice in
public policy questions concerning exclusion
rights
(intellectual
property) in data processing.
_______________________________________________
FFII Press Releases.
(un)subscribe via
http://lists.ffii.org/mailman/listinfo/news, or
contact
media@ffii.org for more information.
=====
ENG: "Corporations are not democratic institutions --their directors and managers owe no accountability to anyone but the shareholders that employ them."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ESP: "Las corporaciones (empresas) no son instituciones democráticas: a sus directores y gerentes no se les puede fincar responsabilidades ante nadie excepto ante sus accionistas que les emplean."
-- Bakan, Joel. (2004). The Corporation. The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power : La corporación (empresa). La búsqueda patológica de ganancias y poder. London: Constable & Robinson, p. 151
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