September 17, 2003
European Commission v. Open Source
Clicking this morning over to the homepage for Apache Cocoon Lenya (a Swiss-initiated, open source concern), my websurf was interrupted for 60 seconds by this announcment (read below):
[Gist: Patents v. Open; sign a petition (they say they've got quarter million); this news is already a little late ("August 27").]
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Update: More patent news (Microsoft's IE use of ActiveX):
Setback for Microsoft Ripples Through the World Wide Web
"The court ruling and its potential impact, according to Mr. Weitzner, points to the larger issue of the need to keep the basic software of the Web free of patent royalties."
``If you try to charge individual companies for patents on Web standards, you risk balkanizing the Web and breaking it,''
Plaintiff: Michael Doyle, the founder of Eolas Technologies in Chicago, while he was an adjunct professor at the University of California at San Francisco. Wants $1.47 a pop for Windows licenses sold...
Consortium of firms working to minimize damage to web browsing experience: Real Networks, Sun, Apple, Adobe, Macromedia, Microsoft.
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Important notice
On September 1st the European Commission is going to vote a revised
version of the European Patentability rules. The proposed revision
contains a set of serious challenges to Open Source development since
regulation regarding software patents will be broadly extended and
might forbid independent development of innovative (Open Source and
not) software-based solutions.
The European Open Source community is very concerned about the upcoming
new regulation and has organized a demo protest for August 27, asking
Open Source supporting sites to change their home pages to let everyone
know what is going on at the European Parliament.
[ The Apache Software Foundation has decided to support this initiative, and this is why you
are seeing this page. ]
For further information please see
http://swpat.ffii.org and
http://petition.eurolinux.org.
[ You will be redirected automatically to the Cocoon homepage in 60 seconds
(or continue on to cocoon.apache.org/lenya/index2.html). ]