This is a page where we can comment on our letter writing style, so that we don't repeat errors.
It's and its:
"it's" is short for "it is".
"its" is the possessive.
Other apostrophes:
I think that nowadays "SMEs" is prefered over "SME's".
Capitalisation:
Not every noun gets capitalised.
Mostly, when refering to the directive you just write directive, not Directive .
Directive COM314/159... is a proper noun and should be capitalised.
I feel that the Directive on Making Europe as Useless as Possible should be capitalised, but I'm not sure why.
it's like the Irish Free Software Organisation.
I also think we should capitalise Free Software, to draw attention to the fact that we view it as a clearly defined category.
Definite Articles:
Are we "IFSO" or "The IFSO"? I use the former but maybe it's just a style choice. We don't talk about "The Trinity College Dublin", and UCD and DCU are also unarticled. Is "The IFSO" valid?
You're correct: we use "IFSO" as a proper noun and thus it doesn't need a "the".
I would suggest that the first mention of the org in any letter should be "the Irish Free Software Organisation (IFSO)" and thereafter just "IFSO".
Acronyms:
TRIPS (not TRIPs according to the WTO)