[openstandaarden] Re: [Patents] [Fwd: [asbl-libre] point de vue CD & V software patent]

[Ward Vandewege]

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Hi David,

On Thu, May 15, 2003 at 03:19:29PM +0200, David GLAUDE wrote:
> Are you and your flemish speaking friends "manadging" the situation of 
> those party (maintaining contact and such). I as a Belgian French 

I just (litterally last week) discovered the relevant Flemish list (at
openstandaarden.be) where lots of 'our' people hang out. I'm not managing
anything - there are several people on that list that do a lot though. I'm
cc'ing the list.

> Speaking have little chances of being accepted as a lobbyiest to Declerk 
> or other. We get little information on our side but obviously I am not 
> on your mailing-list.

You're welcome to subscribe (but it is in Flemish ;).

> However, "you" should contact the MEP of each anti-sw-pat party and tell 
> them about the party position. Then ask them if they need help applying 
> that position and choosing wich amendement are really good and wich are 

Right. Dieter Van Uytvanck has done just that (see
http://openstandaarden.be/maillists/openstandaarden/3302.html). The offering
help you propose is a good idea. I'm not sure if this has been done - maybe
someone else on openstandaarden.be knows.

> really bad. Because saying we are against and voting the wrong one would 
> be very stuppid and a bad signal to the elector. ;-)

Yep.

> 
> Ward Vandewege wrote:
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> >In addition to the CD&V, two other Flemish parties have a clear negative
> >opinion on software patents:
> >
> 
> Wich party are left?
> VU?
> VIVANT?
> SPIRIT?
> I must say I am lost concerning the situation and accronyme of those 
> party. ;-)

I can't blame you. Almost all have changed names/split/joined others in the
last couple of years. Here are the other main parties that are left:

- - Vlaams Blok (racist extreme-right party with lots of votes - I don't have any
desire to deal with them)
- - NVA
- - Vivant

Spirit and sp.a have a joined list for the upcoming elections. The VU doesn't
exist anymore, it fell apart into three parties of which Spirit is the most
important one I think.

> >In a nutshell it says 'Mr. De Clercq is pro sw-pats, because he is in 
> >favour
> >of a strong protection of intellectual property, out of principle'. The 
> >short
> >statement does not give me the impression that Mr. De Clercq fully
> >understands all the issues at stake here - or maybe he doesn't care.
> 
> De Clercq introduced a "program claim" amendment wich is very bad.
> Maybe all the lobbying should be done in that direction to try to 
> reverse this effect.

OK. What are the concrete arguments against the 'program claim'?

> David GLAUDE
> 
> PS: I am also trying to find flemish wich are against computer based 
> election (or at least our current system). I am the web master of the 
> French only (and that alone is a problem) http://www.poureva.be/.

Right. I don't quite like the idea of IBM running our elections, whithout
much (any?) democratic control. Are you in touch with the Free E-democracy
project which focusses mainly on the UK (http://www.free-project.org/)?

> We had an old 1999 version that was partially in two languages, and 
> could be reused but I lacked the time to do it. However for 2004 
> European election, I would like to build contact with your side of the 
> country. ;-)

Sounds like a good plan. I can't promise I will have much time to devote to
this project, but you certainly have my moral support. And hopefully more,
we'll see.

Bye for now,
Ward.

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