Preventing Software Patents:
Why and How
10.00-13.00, Friday the 18th of
November, 2005
European Parliament Office in Ireland
43 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2
On this page:
- Post-event report & records
- Aims of this seminar
- Programme
Post-event report & records
This event was a great success. IFSO would like to thank all of our
members who contributed, and we would like to thank the office of
MEP De Rossa for providing the venue. Members of the audience
particularly liked the panel Q&A session which
ended the event, a recording and transcript of which is among the
materials below.
Online records
Glenn Strong: Introduction to Free Software and to IFSO
Those audio and video recordings also contain a short
introduction from Ger Gibbons, assistant to MEP De Rossa.
Ciarán O'Riordan
(IFSO/FSFE): Preventing
Software Patents in the EU
Gareth Bowker: Ensuring EU legislation doesn't inhibit computer security
Panel Questions & Answers session
Cited documents
Aims of this seminar
The Software Patents Directive was the second largest lobbying
effort that the European Union has seen. After two years of work on
this directive, and now that the directive has been rejected, IFSO
would like to look back on what was achieved and why it was so important to
so many people.
Attendees will hear how the EU legislative process worked in
practice, who was represented in the process, and who wasn't.
The seminar will also look at the road ahead for the software patents battle
in the EU. While this attempt at introducing software patents has been
decisively blocked, the exclusion of software ideas from patentability
still has to be hardened. Until then, we will face attempts to get software
patents in through the back door. Some such attempts are already under way.
Finally, the broader implications will be looked at, for related legislation
which adds unnecessary risks and costs to the development and distribution
of software. By making it impractical for smaller companies and individuals
to participate in the development and distribution of software, such
legislation stands to benefit the current market leaders at the cost of
competition and freedom.
Programme
- 10:00 - Introduction from a parliament insider
- MEP Proinsias De Rossa, on how the software patents directive seemed
to the politicians.
- 10:15 - Introduction to Irish Free Software Organisation (IFSO)
- Glenn Strong, Chairman of IFSO, on what IFSO does, what Free
Software is.
- 10:30 - Preventing software patents in Europe
- Ciaran O'Riordan, on his work for FSFE in the European Parliament as a
lobbyist.
- Ciaran O'Riordan is a committee member of IFSO and is working full time in
Brussels as a political representative for Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE).
He has been involved in the campaign against software patents since early
2003 and is also involved in other directives related to legal issues which
affect software freedom.
- 11:15 - break
- Short break with coffee available.
- 11:40 - Ensuring EU legislation doesn't inhibit computer security
- Gareth Bowker on how the computer security industry would be
affected by software patents and other legislation such as the new
proposal for criminalising patent, copyright, and trademark misuse.
- Gareth Bowker is the Director of Diogel Limited, a Network
Security company based in South Wales who provide secure Internet
connections, secure networks, and Voice-over-IP systems for clients
throughout Wales and Great Britain.
- 12:20 - Questions and Answers for the panel
- The main speakers plus other committee members of IFSO will take
questions on the topics covered.
