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FSFE Becomes WIPO Observer

Posted by timothy on from the which-is-not-a-newspaper dept.

wikinerd writes "FSFE, the European branch of Richard Stallman's Free Software Foundation announced that it was granted observer status in WIPO, the international organisation which influences nationwide copyright laws."

13 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. jaja by Commander+Trollco · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, aside from perhaps making OSS people look like greasy hippies, this is perhaps good news for all that are concerned about software consumers' rights. having a free software advocacy group in such an influential organization will be a good way to ensure that a wrench is thrown into the gears every time lobbyists come around, throwing their specious arguments about intellectual "property"

    --
    http://persianews.on.nimp.org/?u=Tar_Baby
    1. Re:jaja by BlackHawk-666 · · Score: 3, Insightful
      I'd say he's referring to the fact that Stallman looks like he needs a bath, a good shampoo, and a haircut. Sometimes that guy is a two edged sword. One the one hand, you cannot doubt the major good that has come from his crusade, on the other, he makes us all look like smelly hippies.

      I would have thought that if he really truly cared about free software and how it is represented to the business world he might at least try and play the game dressed in a nice suit. I cut my hair and put on a suit to go feed my family, if he cares about free software he might consider doing the same, or risk leaving it marginalised forever in the smelly hippie freak power pre-conception that is so easy to derive from his appearance. Yes Richard, presentation counts for something too...it counted on your exams at MIT and will count in the real world. It's not for no reason the top tier of many development projects is called "The Presentation Layer".

      --
      All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
    2. Re:jaja by JeffTL · · Score: 3, Insightful

      FSF does have a lot of greasy hippies in it, but you know what? The hippies were right -- they smoked too much marijuana, but they were right.

    3. Re:jaja by BlueWonder · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I'd say he's referring to the fact that Stallman looks like he needs a bath, a good shampoo, and a haircut.

      I don't think the hair of Georg Greve, president of the FSFE, is too long or dirty. Judge for yourself, he has some pictures on his homepage.

  2. Progress by comwiz56 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is a substantial piece of progress for widespread recognition and acceptance of OSS. If the OSS liscenses can't be enforced internationally, they are worth nothing. Even though this is only observer status, this is a major step in making OSS a major part of internation trade.

  3. Awesome by ilyanep · · Score: 1, Insightful

    When OSS is recognized by whoever is the overlord of copyright, then OSS is one step closer to becoming the supreme overlord of software.

    --
    ~Ilyanep
    To get message, take amount of carrier pigeons at each stage mod 2. Then decode binary.
  4. Re:To what effect by Ingolfke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There is a big difference between unofficial "squawking" and official "squawking". The first is a rant, the second is an enlightened observation. Although the argument may not change, the official status does have some intrensic value in presenting the argument to decision makers.

  5. Re:We are surrounded by dasunt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wonder if it's possible to live in a IP-free environment. Let's assume that you build your house from a public domain blueprint, you read only books written by authors who died before 1954, you use self-assembled PC running only free software, you use only generic drugs and own devices that either never were patented or whose patents have already expired. I think it's possible without resorting to Amish-style technophobia and living in such environment might even be quite comfortable and stylish (imagine all those 1960's refrigerators, air conditioning systems, eight-track stereo with nothing but folk and classic music etc.). Am I wrong? Any educated comment, please?

    As mentioned by another poster, your computer hardware is probably embraced by patented IP.

    Your automobile would probably still have patented IP.

    Don't forget your local phone system you are using.

    I think its impossible, for all except the loosest definition.

    On the other hand, a life without a computer, car, or phone might be quite comfortable. :)

  6. Re:We are surrounded by Otter · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I think it's possible without resorting to Amish-style technophobia and living in such environment might even be quite comfortable and stylish

    Well, of course it would be possible. That's the whole point of patents -- the inventor is rewarded with a temporary monopoly in return for full disclosure, early adopters may have to pay a premium and the whole thing passes into the public domain in a few years. Compare the available set of generic drugs today to the state of the art of medicine 25 years ago and you see why the patent system is a vital part of progress.

    Endless copyright extensions are a whole other matter -- compare generic statins and chemotherapeuticals to "you read only books written by authors who died before 1954".

    --
    What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
  7. Re:To what effect by erikharrison · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You are missing something. Being close to the decision makers means more power. as George W. Bush pointed out when he was still running a failing oil operation, people look up to you when you're the presidents son.

    This means that the FSFE has the same power as the ISO, if that gives you any idea of what this means.

  8. Re:Nomenclature by uncommonlygood · · Score: 3, Insightful

    will GNU/jokes ever stop being funny?

    err.. yes

  9. Re: We are surrounded by Alwin+Henseler · · Score: 2, Insightful
    .. passage that might sound kind of scary: "Intellectual property surrounds us in nearly everything we do (..)"

    I don't care shit if IP is everywhere. So is water, air or electromagnetic waves. What I DO care about is:

    • The annoying habit of using the term "property". As if it's the same as a house, book or car. Everybody knows it isn't. For some purposes, it may be convenient to treat it the same, but there is fundamental difference between ordinary property, and "IP". Let's make that distinction, shall we? Finding another term to describe "IP" would be a good start.
    • Less annoying is the view of property in general as a natural right, like something that people are born with, or a law of nature. It isn't. "Property" is just an agreement between people ("I was here first, this plot of land is mine"), a legal concept. One that is useful in practice, and feels natural to most people.
    • All the troubles it causes (examples in top of this document), barriers it creates to actually getting work done. The need to include copyright statements with everything you write, lawsuits, the hassle of going through EULA's, slowing down innovation, etc, etc, etc. (the list is long)
    I wonder if it's possible to live in an IP-free environment

    Nope, if you belong to the human race. It's only a matter of time before plants with patented genes are growing in the Brazilian rainforest (if they aren't already), and once out, there's no seperating these from wild plants. Given time, it won't really be possible to grow crops that don't have geneticly modified/patented genes in them. Ofcourse, this is only one example.

  10. Re:We are surrounded by Gandalfar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So, to be moderatly IP free you have to give up on computers?