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Demonstation against Software Patents in Brussels

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the and-grab-me-some-chocolates-plz dept.

ZooBaB writes "On May 8 morning in European Parliament in Brussels, innovative software companies such as MySQL, Galeco, Ilog, Opera ... will gather with Richard Stallman and MEPs from the Greens-efa Group to voice their concerns on the implications of software patents on SMEs. Eurolinux calls on software developers, software companies, and all those who support copyright protection for software to come in Brussels and to participate to a demonstration at Place du Luxembourg."

10 comments

  1. Success by EdMack · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    They can use the total overwhelming smell against all the corps and M$ people there...

    But really, these sort of things are brillaint and I wish I lived closer

    --
    puts ("Python r0cks\n");
  2. oy vey by XO · · Score: 0, Troll

    Well, with RMS there, who really thinks they are going to convince anyone of anything, except that the open source people are raving lunatics?

    --
    "Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
    1. Re:oy vey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      agreed, I believe in open source but rms makes us all look like insane babbling idiots unable to complete a sentence or take a bath.

  3. I will come by Sam+Lowry · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    end of message

  4. impressive event by zogger · · Score: 5, Insightful

    --the topics being presented all sound well thought out and important. I wish the folks there well, last thing they need is a US styled collapsed bloated patenting scheme.

  5. Novels & paintings aren't protected by patents by rollingcalf · · Score: 1

    If literature and math aren't protected by patents, then why in the world should software qualify for patents, when it is essentially just a combination of the two?

    --
    ---------
    There is inferior bacteria on the interior of your posterior.
  6. Re:Novels & paintings aren't protected by pate by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 1

    Because a computer program is really just a machine that can do a function. If you can patent a machine that can "magically" compress music to 1/12 it's size, why can't you patent a computer program that does the same thing?

    You can't patent a book because the book does not function. You can't patent a music track or a JPEG for the same reason. You can patent a method of encoding a music track or a JPEG.

  7. I'll be going by barnsleyBigUn · · Score: 1, Funny

    Holding a big sign saying "Down with Software Patents, we like Linux (NOT Gnu/anything)"... ;-)

    1. Re:I'll be going by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No it was very well organized. Just read reports of the patent lobby about eurolinux:

      http://www.aippi.org/reports/report_eu_nov_02.pd f
      However, this may not be the final decision of the Parliament. The influence of the open source
      lobby should not be underestimated. Some of the Members of the European Parliament and
      even some of the national governments (e.g. France) remain very reluctant to accept the
      directive. Open source has twisted the issue of harmonisation of software patent protection into
      a question of free speech. In light of the controversial discussions regarding the genetic patent
      issue (life patents) some politicians might fear to create another area of public concern by
      supporting software patents. The open source community directs a multitude of messages
      toward politicians, all of which snowball into a vigorous argument against software patents.
      The established software industry should not leave the field to the open source activists.
      Members of the European Parliament must receive input from those established companies
      that profit from the patent system.