[Fsfe-uk] URGENT RFC: Text for UK swpat MP lobbying/slashdotting

[James Heald]

Follow-ups to  address@hidden  please.

You may need to go to join the list at
        http://mail.ffii.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/ffii-uk_ffii.org.uk
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Comments, feedback, fixes needed URGENTLY for

        http://www.ffii.org.uk/council.html

The software patents directive is going to be discussed in the Council 
of Ministers on November 10th.

The text that comes out is critical, because that's what goes to the 
MEPs at second reading -- and the European Parliament rules are 
different for second reading: amendments are *far* harder to get passed.

At the moment it looks as though the UK will be pushing for the 
Council's to adopt unchanged its November 2002 draft text.  This is even 
worse than the McCarthy report -- no definition of technical, abstract 
data processing a 'field of technology', no article 6a allowing 
interoperability, and 'program claims' which would make the publication 
of patented code on a website a direct patent infringement -- even if 
the code is for discussion only and never run.


We desperately need to kick-start a UK letter-writing campaign to MPs to 
try to change the Government's mind before November 10th.

In fact it's even more urgent than that, because  officials from the UK 
patent office will be negotiating with their opposite numbers from 
patent offices across Europe as soon as this Thursday, 23rd October, to 
try to fix the blueprint for the ministers' meeting.

So we desperately need *lots* of letters to start going out to MPs *this 
weekend* to tell the government how bad the November 2002 draft is.


The plan is to try to get the
        http://www.ffii.org.uk/council.html
page slashdotted this afternoon, while some slashdotters are still 
reading it at work; and also to send out a mailing to people on the 
Eurolinux petition list and the FFII supporters list.


SO:  Please start submitting the page, or bits of this email, with 
whatever other links and bits you think would help, to the Slashdot 
submissions page any time after 2.30 (UK time).  A good title might be 
some variant of "4 weeks to stop e-patents in Europe"


And please send any improved paragraphs/better texts/stylesheet fixes 
for the pages

        http://www.ffii.org.uk/
        http://www.ffii.org.uk/council.html
        http://www.ffii.org.uk/nov2002.html
        http://www.ffii.org.uk/technical.html
        http://www.ffii.org.uk/hewitt.html
        
to the  address@hidden  list *as soon as possible*.  Time is very 
short.


All best,

   James Heald.