[Edu-sig] politics,again

[Laura Creighton]

In a message of Sun, 05 Oct 2003 08:54:33 EDT, Arthur writes:
>No avoiding the "big picture" political issues.
>
>Disturbing - to say the least.
>
>A innocent browse to http://www.knoppix.org/ produces:
>
>"""Closed because of "Software-Patents" """
>
>and a referal to http://swpat.ffli.org for more information.
>
>I know that Laura Creighton has been active in Sweden in trying to get th
>is
>issue addressed - or bill defeated, or sufficiently toned down.

Right now we got a terrific set of ammendments.  Go to www.ffii.org and
see why I want the current law passed, not failed.

>
>Me - I'm confused.  On one hand I'm understanding that the bill being
>considered in Europre is US style protections.  But little of the extreme
>ramifications being discussed in Eutrope in lobbying for defeat of the
>legislation are in effect in the US -e.g., collecting license fees on
>"progress bars", etc.

YOu've been hanging out in the wrong newsgroups.  Go to www.ffii.org
and find some there and you will have all of such debate as you could
ever desire.  

>
>It is protrayed as an issue of Big Companies using the pending new law to
>prey on others and drive them from business.
>
>But where were the laws that might have protected the innovators behind t
>he
>Speadsheet or Internet Browser from being ripped off by Microsoft and dri
>ven
>from businesses that they effectively created? I guess laws strong enough
> to
>do that would also have created monopolies - and we would be cowering bef
>ore
>Lotus instead of Microsoft.  No simple answers is probably the answer.
>
>Shouldn't folks be entitled to put conditions on the issuance of their
>intellectual property - even if is just the GPL? Isn't that what we are
>telling SCO?
>
>Not expressing an opinion - just confusion. Fundamental confusion.

>And frustration that the net effect of this wrangling is Knoppix closed f
>or
>business - at least temporarity
>
>Just when I needed them.
>
>Art

We didn't know about Koppix as far a I know.  (I just got back from Berlin),
and wow do I have mail.  Come over to an ffii list -- bxl if you want one
that I am active with, and ask your questions there and make a report.
We will get you writing press releases if you aren't careful.

Do you know Seth Jackson?  He is in NYC and organasing US resistence there.
So is the EFF eff.org.  We need volunteers for pretty much everthing
native English speakers especially welcome.

Laura  (working on this, but working on PyPy too ....)