By John Leyden
Campaigners are mobilising tomorrow (14 April) in opposition to plans to establish US-style software patents in Europe.
This month the Irish Presidency of the EU referred back the controversial EU Directive on software patents to a committee of politicians from member states. The proposed draft text rejects all amendments made by the European Parliament last September and instead pushes for direct patentability of computer programs.
A demo will take place in Brussels tomorrow morning, culminating in a rally, speeches, performances and the release of balloons outside the European Council building. The rally begins at 11.30am at Luxemburg Square. Participants will wear t-shirts with the slogan: “No Software Patents – Power to the Parliament”.
A similar demonstration last August attracted 400 protestors and is credited with demonstrating the unpopularity of software patent to MEPs.
In a parallel protest, the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) is organising an online demo in which websites will post protest pages or banners expressing their opposition to software patents. More than 1100 sites have signed up for this protest.
Source http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/13/eu_patent_protest/
