Software Patents leaflet - again : )

[Erik Albers]

Hello List,

sorry for the delay in working on the leaflet about software patents. We
had a really high workload the last 4 weeks, combined with a high rate
of illness among the members of our team. Therefore, I was not able to
work on this issue.

So, let's start again:
Our leaflet about software patents that we use at the booth, is really
outdated and should be updated. Please help me to update our leaflet. I
opened an Etherpad where I inserted the text of the actual leaflet and
some additional text from my side:
http://policy.etherpad.fsfe.org/7
PW: SWPAT2012

I think, the length that the text on the etherpad has now is
approximately the text length we can use on the leaflet. So, when you
add some text then try to delete some text elsewhere, if possible : )

Thank you very much for you participation and ideas,

best regards,
Erik





- --

Erik Albers [ ]
Free Software Foundation Europe [ ][ ][ ]
Policy Team [ ]
Your donation powers our work! [http://fsfe.org/donate/]

Contact me in < Deutsch/English/Espa?ol > via:
Mail eal at fsfe.org
Jabber eal at jabber.fsfe.org
Phone [phone]

Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030).

[Ciarán O'Riordan]

I've rewritten some parts and added notes to other parts. There's a lot
of work to do.

I'll try to come back and do some more in a day or two.

(I'm otherwise busy with a Brazilian swpat consultation by the patent
office. If anyone has Brazilian connections, please take a look at the
links here:
http://news.swpat.org/2012/03/brazilian-swpat-consultation/ )
--
[phone] (<-NEW),
http://ciaran.compsoc.com

Please help build the software patents wiki:
http://en.swpat.org
http://www.EndSoftwarePatents.org

Donate: http://endsoftwarepatents.org/donate
List: http://campaigns.fsf.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/esp-action-alert

[Erik Albers]

Dear all,

still we should take care of the leaflet about our work concerning
software patents, which will be available at our booths.

The text is on the Etherpad and is awaiting your proofreading. Having
good and actual leaflets about our work helps a lot to inform people
and to start conversations at the booth. So, please take your time to
help proofreading.

The text is available here:
http://policy.etherpad.fsfe.org/7; PW: SWPAT2012

The next booth will be at Berliner LinuxTag, next week from Wednesday
to Saturday.

thank you very much,
erik


- --

Erik Albers [ ]
Free Software Foundation Europe [ ][ ][ ]
Policy Team [ ]
Your donation powers our work! [http://fsfe.org/donate/]

Contact me in < Deutsch/English/Espa?ol > via:
Mail eal at fsfe.org
Jabber eal at jabber.fsfe.org
Phone [phone]

Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030).

[Craig Errington]

Hi All,

I have just done some grammar tidy up on a few lines.

Made a suggestion in the comments too.

Craig (ce)

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Dear all,
still we should take care of the leaflet about our work concerning
software patents, which will be available at our booths.
The text is on the Etherpad and is awaiting your proofreading. Having
good and actual leaflets about our work helps a lot to inform people
and to start conversations at the booth. So, please take your time to
help proofreading.
? ? ? ?http://policy.etherpad.fsfe.org/7; PW: SWPAT2012
The next booth will be at Berliner LinuxTag, next week from Wednesday
to Saturday.
thank you very much,
erik
- --
Erik Albers ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? [ ]
Free Software Foundation Europe ? ? ? ?[ ][ ][ ]
Policy Team ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? [ ]
Your donation powers our work! [http://fsfe.org/donate/]
?Mail ? ?eal at fsfe.org
?Jabber ?eal at jabber.fsfe.org
?Phone ? [phone]
Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030).
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[Hugo Roy]

Post by Erik Albers
http://policy.etherpad.fsfe.org/7; PW: SWPAT2012

Ciaran and I have given 2 proposals for the introduction and I also
brought various substantial changes to the document with comments that
need your attention.

Best,

[Erik Albers]

Post by Hugo Roy

The text is available here: http://policy.etherpad.fsfe.org/7;
PW: SWPAT2012

Ciaran and I have given 2 proposals for the introduction and I
also brought various substantial changes to the document with
comments that need your attention.

I did some changes again, thanks for your good work! Please have a
look at the actual version. I created a third option for the
introduction. The text reads like:

"Software patents, thus, are a real threat to users freedom,
innovation and the whole Free Software community."
This is a simple sentence, addressing the most important topics and
therefore (hopefully) attracts readers. There is no need to come up
with detailed arguments or information in the introduction. The
introduction should be a short, attractive message to get readers to
go on reading. Now it reads like:

"FSFE is working toward a world where software does what users want it
to do. Software patents, however, create legal and financial risks
that block most people from being able to safely participate in
software development and distribution. Software patents, thus, are a
real threat to users freedom, innovation and the whole Free Software
community."

Then, in the following passages we come up with detailed information
and arguments. Hence, there is no need wo include them in the
introduction. What do you think?

Cheers,
Erik


- --

Erik Albers [ ]
Free Software Foundation Europe [ ][ ][ ]
Policy Team [ ]
Your donation powers our work! [http://fsfe.org/donate/]

Contact me in < Deutsch/English/Espa?ol > via:
Mail eal at fsfe.org
Jabber eal at jabber.fsfe.org
Phone [phone]

Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030).

[Ciarán O'Riordan]

I've made more changes. It's probably almost ready now.

Post by Erik Albers
http://policy.etherpad.fsfe.org/7
PW: SWPAT2012

--
[phone] (<-NEW),
http://ciaran.compsoc.com

Please help build the software patents wiki:
http://en.swpat.org
http://www.EndSoftwarePatents.org

Donate: http://endsoftwarepatents.org/donate
List: http://campaigns.fsf.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/esp-action-alert

[Erik Albers]

Hi Ciaran,

thank you very much for your work on this leaflet. I did some changes,
too. besides proofreading I changed the structure a bit and filled in
two or three more sentences. Please have a look.
Ah: Before doing, I saved a revision from your last changes.

anybody else is of course welcome to help us in elaborating a new
software patent leaflet.

Best regards,
Erik

Post by Ciarán O'Riordan
I've made more changes. It's probably almost ready now.

Post by Erik Albers
http://policy.etherpad.fsfe.org/7
PW: SWPAT2012

- --

Erik Albers [ ]
Free Software Foundation Europe [ ][ ][ ]
Policy Team [ ]
Your donation powers our work! [http://fsfe.org/donate/]

Contact me in < Deutsch/English/Espa?ol > via:
Mail eal at fsfe.org
Jabber eal at jabber.fsfe.org
Phone [phone]

Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030).

[Ciarán O'Riordan]

I can't do any more on this. Exams coming up.

Whichever intro is used, it should explain how swpats are bad for:

1. Free software - important for users
2. Software freedom - important for developers

1. Free software is harmed because swpats give an advantage to companies
with money and lawyers. This category is the least likely to
spontaneously give freedom to users of their software. Spontaneous
offers of freedom (and pressure on large companies to also give
freedom) comes from individuals, academics, hobbyists, and (to a
lesser extent) SMEs. Anything that helps big companies and harms
small developers, will reduce the amount of free software in the
world.

2. Software freedom is damaged because it becomes illegal to develop or
distribute certain types of programs.

For FSFE both are important, but users might only see the value of #1,
and developers might only see the value of #2, so both should be
explained.

The harms of software patents can also be explained with two other
categories: 1. They add financial and legal risks to *all* software
development. 2. They specifically block the development of useful
software because (a) they block standards and (b) when a software
package gains a lot of users, *then* it becomes a target for either
patent trolls wanting money or big software companies wanting to kill
competition.


I think it's also important to ignore innovation. FSFE has no mandate
to promote innovation. If some reliable studies proved that swpats help
innovation, or if politicians were convinced that this was true, then
FSFE saying "Promoting innovation is important" wouldn't be helpful. We
can leave that work to researchers. FSFE's role is to say "They also
hurt free software and software freedom, and these are important!".

Some people will see freedom as a tradeable value. (Do I want more
freedom if it will ruin the economy?) To reassure those people, a
*minor* mention of not hurting innovation/SMEs/economy/other-stuff is
worthwhile.

Last comments:

* Avoid words like "oligopolistic" - not everyone knows what exactly
they are and how they affect software freedom / free software

* Words like "market" are difficult to use right. The software *market*
is just an incidental aspect of what FSFE cares about.

Hope that helps. This groundhog is now going into hibernation...

[Heiki &quot;Repentinus&quot; Ojasild]

Innovation is the point of software freedom: Without innovation, there
would come time when there would be no need for new software, no need
for software developers to be able to alter the code.

I can't do any more on this. ?Exams coming up.
1. Free software - important for users
2. Software freedom - important for developers
1. Free software is harmed because swpats give an advantage to companies
? with money and lawyers. ?This category is the least likely to
? spontaneously give freedom to users of their software. ?Spontaneous
? offers of freedom (and pressure on large companies to also give
? freedom) comes from individuals, academics, hobbyists, and (to a
? lesser extent) SMEs. ?Anything that helps big companies and harms
? small developers, will reduce the amount of free software in the
? world.
2. Software freedom is damaged because it becomes illegal to develop or
? distribute certain types of programs.
For FSFE both are important, but users might only see the value of #1,
and developers might only see the value of #2, so both should be
explained.
The harms of software patents can also be explained with two other
categories: 1. They add financial and legal risks to *all* software
development. ?2. They specifically block the development of useful
software because (a) they block standards and (b) when a software
package gains a lot of users, *then* it becomes a target for either
patent trolls wanting money or big software companies wanting to kill
competition.
I think it's also important to ignore innovation. ?FSFE has no mandate
to promote innovation. ?If some reliable studies proved that swpats help
innovation, or if politicians were convinced that this was true, then
FSFE saying "Promoting innovation is important" wouldn't be helpful. ?We
can leave that work to researchers. ?FSFE's role is to say "They also
hurt free software and software freedom, and these are important!".
Some people will see freedom as a tradeable value. ?(Do I want more
freedom if it will ruin the economy?) ?To reassure those people, a
*minor* mention of not hurting innovation/SMEs/economy/other-stuff is
worthwhile.
* Avoid words like "oligopolistic" - not everyone knows what exactly
?they are and how they affect software freedom / free software
* Words like "market" are difficult to use right. ?The software *market*
?is just an incidental aspect of what FSFE cares about.
Hope that helps. ?This groundhog is now going into hibernation...
--
Ciar?n O'Riordan
[phone]
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--
Heiki "Repentinus" Ojasild
FSFE Fellow (en) / FSFE ?hinglane (et)
<repentinus at fsfe.org>
<https://wiki.fsfe.org/Fellows/repentinus>
<http://blogs.fsfe.org/repentinus/>

[Ciarán O'Riordan]

Post by Heiki &quot;Repentinus&quot; Ojasild
Innovation is the point of software freedom

Well, let's look at who judges our software:

Who will judge if we have developed software that we want? We will. We
use our software and it either does what we want, or we change it or
file bug reports (or complain on slashdot and other forums we created).

Who will judge if we have developed innovative software? The patent
office. Or, if the patent office ignores software, then no one will
judge if our software is innovative. If innovation was important to us,
and no one was examining our software for innovation, then FSFE would
have to hire someone to monitor how innovative free software is. But
they won't, because it's not important. Clearly innovation was never
the point.


Put another way: Are we happy when we have innovative software that
doesn't do what we want? No. Are we happy when we have non-innovative
software that does do what we want? Yes. (Example: a free clone of an
existing proprietary package.)

All things being equal, scientific progress is good, and it will happen,
but it's a side effect, not our primary goal.

[Hugo Roy]

Innovation is sort of the point of the patent system. So maybe this
paragraph should stay there to explain that software patent actually
work against innovation in software.

One strong point in favour of keeping this paragraph is that most people
don't actually understand that writing software is a substantially
different activity than producing drugs for instance. Patents are trying
to cover an activity (writing software) which wasn't meant to be covered
by the patent system, applying patent to it is actually
counterproductive.

Again, this is a side-issue of software freedom. But Software freedom is
directly impacted by lack of possibility left for innovation.

Now I draw your attention to this: the current paragraph about
innovation is not well written in my opinion (and this largely my fault)
so native English speakers are really needed here because they will do a
much better job of putting in one or two sentences what would take me 5.

Thanks,
Hugo

[Erik Albers]

First, thank you all very much for your spontaneous efforts to improve
our leaflet about software patents, you are great!

Post by Hugo Roy
Innovation is sort of the point of the patent system. So maybe
this paragraph should stay there to explain that software patent
actually work against innovation in software.

I agree. "Innovation" is a buzzword when it comes to talk with
politicians about software patents. Because one of the most repeated
arguments from our opposition is that patents boost innovation. And
therefore patents are needed for nations economy to be innovative.
IMHO it is important for our work to try reframing this argument and
open up peoples mind: that the freedom of creation produces much more
innovation than a patent system who serves monolistic economies. Such
a system, instead, reduces innovation in the hands of just a few
players holding the patent rights.
If we ever like to persuade the majority of a Parliament about the
negative aspects of software patents, I think "innovation" will be a
key argument to get them on board.

cheers,
Erik

- --

Erik Albers [ ]
Free Software Foundation Europe [ ][ ][ ]
Policy Team [ ]
Your donation powers our work! [http://fsfe.org/donate/]

Contact me in < Deutsch/English/Espa?ol > via:
Mail eal at fsfe.org
Jabber eal at jabber.fsfe.org
Phone [phone]

Free Software Foundation Europe e.V. is a German Verein registered
at the Registergericht Hamburg (VR 17030).