From press at fsfeurope.org  Wed Jan 16 22:06:25 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (Free Software Foundation Europe)
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:06:25 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] FSFE Newsletter
Message-ID: <nl.200712.txt@fsfeurope.org>

Happy new year everyone.  The last month of 2007 was pretty exciting, with the 
biggest news being the release of interoperability information by Microsoft in 
connection with the European antitrust case.  The SAMBA project has arranged 
full access to specifications necessary for communication competitive 
alternatives to Microsoft's proprietary products.  Of course, this does not 
mean that Microsoft's monopolistic behaviour has been resolved.  A new 
antitrust case may be undertaken after complaints by Opera Software that 
Microsoft has willfully distorted the web browser marketplace.  It's
also important to note that this does not in any way solve the problem
with patents on software.  Such patents are still being granted by the
European Patent Office (EPO) in violation of current law, and the FSFE is
encouraging the European Commission to take actions to permanently abolish
patents on software, both in theory and practice.

In other news, Google has committed to supporting FSFE's Freedom Task Force in 
helping people understand Free Software licences. Free Software events in 
Scandinavia and the Balkans showed the continued spread of Free Software 
technology and values across Europe, and concerns about information control 
and retention have been voiced in Germany.  It looks like we are going to have 
a very busy 2008!  You can be part of it by contributing time and energy to 
FSFE's activities, by telling people about Free Software and by using some 
of the great free solutions out there.  Check out 
http://www.fsfeurope.org/contribute/ for some information on getting started.

                                                    - Shane, Zuerich Office
                                                      <coughlan at fsfeurope.org>


1. MS vs EU - Microsoft Releases Interoperability Information To SAMBA
2. FSFE Supports New Antitrust Case
3. Google Contributes To The FTF
4. Free Software Story In Berlin
5. FScons
6. Privatsphaere.org Meeting On Privacy 
7. STACS Session In Belgrade
8. Serbian Ministry For Information Society Undertakes Localisation Efforts


1. MS vs EU - Microsoft Releases Interoperability Information To SAMBA

In 2004 the European Commission found Microsoft guilty of monopoly abuse 
in the IT marketplace and demanded that complete interoperability information 
be made available to competitors. Microsoft objected to this decision and was 
overruled in September 2007 by the European Court of First Instance (CFI). 
The CFI found Microsoft guilty of deliberate obstruction of interoperability 
and upheld the obligation for Microsoft to share its protocol information.

The Samba Team has decided to make use of Micrsoft's obligation under the 
European judgements. Through the Protocol Freedom Information Foundation (PFIF),
network interoperability information has been requested and a one-time access 
fee of 10.000 EUR is being paid to give Samba team full access to important 
specifications.

"This case is over and interoperability won. The European Court made clear that 
interoperability information should not be kept secret and the agreement shows 
that Microsoft saw no way to continue its obstruction of interoperability in 
this area. This establishes a standard which everyone will have to meet from 
now on," summarizes Georg Greve, president of FSFE. 

 http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/2007/news-20071220-01.en.html


2. FSFE Supports New Antitrust Case

Opera Software has formally complained about Microsoft's anti-competitive 
behaviour in the web browser marketplace and there is the possibility of a new 
antitrust case on this issue being launched by the European Commission.  FSFE 
has sent a letter to the European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes offering
its support for any investigation undertaken on the basis of the complaint.

"Although Opera Software does not produce Free Software, we largely share their 
assessment and concerns regarding the present situation in the Internet browser 
market", FSFE president Georg Greve writes in the letter and continues: "Some of
the most successful browsers in the concerned market are Free Software or 
contain large portions of Free Software. This includes, Mozilla Firefox and 
Konqueror, a browser made by KDE. Those products are highly innovative and 
widely recognized as more secure than the dominant application. They faithfully 
implement major international Open Standards relevant to browser technology."

 http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/2007/news-20071221-01.en.html
 http://fsfeurope.org/documents/20071219-opera-antitrust.pdf


3. Google Contributes To The FTF

FSFE's Freedom Task Force provides Free Software licence education, 
training and consultancy.  We do stuff like managing a pan-European 
network of legal experts and working with gpl-violations.org to resolve 
licensing issues.  Basically, the FTF helps to build infrastructure 
that encourages Free Software adoption and fair use.

Recently Google made a contribution to help the FTF deliver training
courses, attend conferences and translate documentation into more
languages.  Like all NGOs we have limited resources and Google's
assistance makes a significant difference.  We would like to thank Chris and
the rest of the team at the Googleplex for believing in what we do and
for making it possible for us to continue this work.

 http://www.fsfeurope.org/ftf/


4. Free Software Story In Berlin

On the 13th of December the Berlin Fellowship group held a local meeting.
Amongst the up to 20 people in the room from Berlin, there were also
visitors from outside Berlin: Georg Greve (FSFE's President) and
Bernhard Reiter (FSFE's German Coordinator).  During tea, gingerbread,
and other sweeties (plus beer) it was talked about the beginning of
FSFE, how the participants came to Free Software, and other nice, funny,
interesting stories, which fitted nicely into the pre Christmas mood.

 Picture: http://www.fsfe.org/en/fellows/mk/weblog/teatime_in_berlin


5. FScons

In December close to 200 participants attended FSCONS (Free Software
Conference in Scandinavia). During the two days the participants could
listen to presentation ranging from Free Software licensing to Free 
Software in embedded devices. FSCONS was arranged by FSFE, and will
become an annual event to gather people from the nordic countries.

http://www.fscons.org


6. Privatsphaere.org Meeting On Privacy 

"The citizens should control the government instead the government controlling
the citizens!" was a spontaneous outcry of those attending an event called 
privatsphaere.org - a joint initiative of UUGRN.org, the "Laboratory for 
Dependable Distributed Systems University of Mannheim" and FSFE. 
After six presentations tackling the European data retention directive, the 
German "online searching" and the electronic health card from different 
perspectives, about 80 people in the audience agreed that the building of 
"data mountains" will not prevent terrorism in Europe but will cause 
additional problems to the society as whole. One visitor asked: "Where are 
all the local journalists, counsels, tax consultants and medical doctors? 
They should have joined this great event!" Three speakers repeatedly 
recommended the usage of Free Software to help ensure some minimum privacy, 
and FSFE pointed out that people should be careful with regards committing 
personal information to archives.


7. STACS Session In Belgrade

On the 4th of December, FSFE hosted a STACS project session in Belgrade. Civil 
society representatives both the local area and the EU participated in workshops 
and discussions, brainstormed interesting projects intended for future 
development.

 http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/stacs/stacs.en.html


8. Serbian Ministry For Information Society Undertakes Localisation Efforts

According to the official website of Serbian Ministry for telecommunication and 
information society, the ministry will invest in Free Software localisation in 
Serbia to provides solutions to the public and business sector. Fedora and 
Ubuntu GNU/Linux distributions will be localised along with GNOME, KDE, Mozilla 
products (Firefox and Thunderbird) and OpenOffice.org.  The work will be 
undertaken in cooperation with Serbian universities. Initial contacts with 
localisation teams and Free Software 
community are currently being made.



Get active with FSFE:
http://www.fsfeurope.org/contribute/

You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html

Copyright (C) FSFE.  Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire 
article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved. 



From press at fsfeurope.org  Fri Jan 18 11:36:45 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (Joachim Jakobs)
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:36:45 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] NLnet continues to support FSFE's Freedom Task Force
Message-ID: <200801181136.45733.press@fsfeurope.org>

NLnet continues to support FSFE's Freedom Task Force

FSFE's Freedom Task Force was launched in November 2006 to help support
individuals, projects and businesses with Free Software licensing. The
initial phase of the FTF was possible thanks to support by the
Netherlands based philantropic organisation NLnet foundation. NLnet's
support allowed the FTF to provide training, consultancy and to work in
partnership with gpl-violations.org to resolve licence issues in the
European area.  The FTF also formed networks of technical and legal
experts to foster cooperation between lawyers, projects and businesses
with licensing concerns.  Now, after just over twelve months of
continual growth, NLnet is providing a second round of financial support
to this innovative legal project.

"The next twelve months are going to be pretty exciting for the FTF and
for Free Software in general," says Shane Coughlan, FTF Coordinator.  "The 
European anti-trust case against Microsoft was recently completed, the 
amount of Free Software savvy lawyers is increasing and Free Software 
adoption is rapidly rising.  Free Software is no longer an alternative. 
It's mainstream."  The FTF will play a part in ensuring that this 
mainstream technology is as simple to use and distribute as possible. We 
will continue to produce knowledge, to train people, to connect people and 
to resolve issues that occur. Thanks to NLnet I believe the FTF will be in
a position to help lead European Free Software licensing best practice."

"We consider the user-friendly legal framework behind the development of
Free Software to be one of the core assets, and a strong driver of
constant innovation," states Michiel Leenaars, strategy manager at
NLnet. "But as with any fine print it takes some work to understand the
opportunities. The Freedom Task Force is creating awareness and building
a network of expertise across Europe".

Today the FTF's legal and technical networks cover sixteen European
countries, have over seventy members and include contacts from the USA,
Canada, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan.  The FTF delivers training
courses in Switzerland in cooperation with Digicomp, in Sweden with
Internet Academy and in The Netherlands with ATComputing.  We have 
identified an area of the Free Software community that needed further 
development and we are determined to ensure that Europe has excellent 
licensing knowledge available to the widest possible audience," says 
Shane Coughlan.  "I'm confident that the FTF will continue to deliver 
high quality assistance to both non-commercial and commercial 
stakeholders."

With NLnet's support, the FTF will continue to expand the European Legal 
and Technical Networks to cover the entire EU and to help individuals, 
projects and businesses understand Free Software licensing. The FTF's 
current training courses will be expanded and delivered in Germany, Italy 
and the UK.

"This is only the beginning," concludes Shane Coughlan, FTF Coordinator.



The Freedom Task Force can be found at http://www.fsfeurope.org/ftf/
The Freedom Task Force can be emailed at ftf at fsfeurope.org

About the Free Software Foundation Europe:

   The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
   non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
   involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
   participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in the
   information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free Software
   Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the furthering of
   Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy.
   Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, securing Free
   Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
   supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.

Contact:

   You can reach the FSFE switchboard from:
    Belgium:     +32 2 747 03 57 ext 408
    Germany:     +49 700 373 38 76 73 ext 408
    Sweden:      +46 31 7802160 ext 408
    Switzerland: +41 43 500 03 66 ext 408
    UK:          +44 29 200 08 17 7 ext 408 

   Shane Coughlan, FTF Coordinator,  FSFE extension: 408

   Joachim Jakobs, Media Relations,  FSFE extension: 404
                                             mobile: +49-179-6919565

   Further information: http://fsfeurope.org

From press at fsfeurope.org  Tue Feb 12 09:51:28 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (Free Software Foundation Europe)
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:51:28 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] FSFE Newsletter
Message-ID: <nl.200801.txt@fsfeurope.org>

January has been a month full of activity both on the grassroots community 
level and in broad topics like Free Software legal infrastructure.  The local 
Fellowship groups in Berlin and Duesseldorf are very active, and Duesseldorf's 
Fellowship is planning to expand to nearby cities in the coming months.  
Meanwhile, FSFE and gpl-violations.org have been deepening their partnership 
to ensure fair use of Free Software licences in the European area.

This is a great time to get more involved with FSFE and the Fellowship, 
especially if you are interested in fostering local activities for like-minded 
Free Software enthusiasts or new members of our community.  You can find
tips on getting active here: http://fsfeurope.org/contribute.  

						Shane, FSFE Zurich office


1. GPL-violations.org and FSFE's Freedom Task Force plan future interaction
2. NLnet continues to support FSFE's Freedom Task Force
3. Berlin Fellowship meeting and talk
4. Duesseldorf Fellowship meeting and planning future events
5. FSFE meeting in G?teborg, Sweden
6. SELF Open Documentary Contest

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

7. Richard Stallman Speech about Free Software Philosophy and History in Berlin, 2008-02-18
8. Preparation for FOSDEM, Brussels, 2008-02-23 and 2008-02-24
9. "Standards and the Future of the Internet" Conference, Geneva, 2008-02-26
10. Secure shell speech at Duesseldorf Fellowship, Duesseldorf, 2008-02-27


1. GPL-violations.org and FSFE's Freedom Task Force plan future interaction

On the 31st of January representatives from gpl-violations.org and FSFE's FTF 
met in Berlin to discuss the future of licence compliance in the European area.
Harald Welte and Armijn Hemel discussed the perspective of the successful 
gpl-violations.org project, while Shane Coughlan represented FSFE.  Dr. Till 
Jaeger attended one of the sessions and brought his considerable legal knowledge
to the conversation.  GPL-violations.org and FSFE's FTF have agreed to work 
closely together to ensure fair use, understanding and responsibility in the 
use of Free Software licences.

  http://laforge.gnumonks.org/weblog/2008/02/02/#20080202-gplviolations-meeting


2. NLnet continues to support FSFE's Freedom Task Force

The initial phase of the FTF was possible thanks to support by the Netherlands 
based philantropic organisation NLnet foundation.  Today the FTF's legal and 
technical networks cover sixteen European countries, have over seventy members 
and include contacts from the USA, Canada, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan. 
The FTF delivers training courses in Switzerland in cooperation with Digicomp, 
in Sweden with Internet Academy and in The Netherlands with ATComputing. Now, 
after just over twelve months of continual growth, NLnet is providing a second 
round of financial support to this innovative legal project.

  http://fsfeurope.org/news/2008/news-20080118-01.en.html


3. Berlin Fellowship meeting and talk

The Berlin Fellowship Group met at the Newthinking Store as usual and featured 
a talk from Hannes Hauswedell about the free BSD operating systems.  Discussion 
centred around BSD variants as alternative Free operating systems, description 
of the various BSD variants and the policies that the BSD projects have 
regarding Free Software adoption. 

If you would like to join in the fun, please note that the Berlin Fellowship 
meets every second Thursday in the month at the Newthinking Store, 
Tucholskystr. 48 in 10117 Berlin. 


4. Duesseldorf Fellowship meeting and planning future events

The Duesseldorf Fellowship met as usual and discussed future plans. This 
included a highly interesting and constructive discussion about having a booth 
at the Labour's Day 1. May at Duesseldorf. The Fellowship will share their 
booth with other organisations.  Chaosdorf e.V. (the local CCC group, 
http://www.chaosdorf.de) may attend.  The Fellowship also planned meetings 
in other cities like Cologne and Roermond/NL to intensify the contact to other 
Fellows.
 
  Get in contact with the Duesseldorf Fellowship: rk at office.fsfeurope.org


5. FSFE meeting in G?teborg, Sweden

The Swedish team of the FSFE organised a small meeting for those
interested in the FSFE activities on the 28th of january. Some of the
issues discussed focused around publishing the videos recorded during
FSCONS in december, and generally around video editing and mastering.


6. SELF Open Documentary Contest

The SELF (Science, Education and Learning in Freedom) project has
announced a SELF Open Documentary Contest where individuals and
companies are invited to "create a documentary about the creation of
free knowledge and education in the digital era". The contest runs
until the end of may 2008, and the winners will be presented during a
SELF conference in Spain in july 2008.

    http://www.selfproject.eu/contest



FORTHCOMING EVENTS


7. Richard Stallman Speech about Free Software Philosophy and History in Berlin, 2008-02-18

On Monday 18. February at 19:00 Richard M. Stallman, founder of the GNU project
and the FSF, will give a speech at the mediacentre - Atrium, Johannisstrasse 20,
in 10117 Berlin-Mitte. He will talk about the history and philosophy of Free 
Software. The Berlin Fellowship group will have a small booth there and inform 
visitors about the local groupd and FSFE's work in Germany and Europe. Admission
starts at 18:30. The entrance fee is 5 EUR.


8. Preparation for FOSDEM, Brussels, 2008-02-23 and 2008-02-24

Many in FSFE are getting ready for FSFE's 7th trip to FOSDEM.  Like previous
years, FSFE has been given a large stall just inside the main entrance.
FOSDEM is one of the year's two largest Free Software events where FSFE's
members, friends, and employees can meet each other and the free software
community.  It's also an opportunity to buy t-shirts and other FSFE
material, and to join the Fellowship of FSFE - which we launched at FOSDEM
2005.

If you're at the event or nearby, drop in an say hi!  FOSDEM is very much a
community focussed event, with no entrance fee, but you can donate if you
like.

  http://fosdem.org/2008/


9. "Standards and the Future of the Internet" Conference, Geneva, 2008-02-26

Shane Coughlan, the coordinator of FSFE's Freedom Task Force, will host a 
breakout session discussing licensing issues at the "Standards and the Future 
of the Internet" Conference being held in Geneva, Switzerland, during the 26th 
and 27th of February. The conference will be hosted at the International 
Conference Centre and confirmed speakers include Vint Cerf, Carlo Piana, 
Thomas Vinje and Jeremy Allison.


10. Secure shell speech at Duesseldorf Fellowship, Duesseldorf, 2008-02-27

Patrick Haehnel will hold a talk at the Duesseldorf Fellowship on the 27th of 
February.  The title of his speech is "Forget the Swiss Army Knife! - Secure 
Shell - tips'n'tricks." 


You can find a full list of forthcoming events here:
http://fsfeurope.org/events/events.html

You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters here:
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html

Copyright (C) FSFE.  Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire 
article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved. 

From press at fsfeurope.org  Thu Feb 14 12:36:54 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (Joachim Jakobs)
Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:36:54 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] FSFE announces the first European Licensing and Legal
	Workshop for Free Software
Message-ID: <200802141236.55188.press@fsfeurope.org>

FSFE's Freedom Task Force today announces the first European Licensing and 
Legal Workshop for Free Software will be held on Friday the 11th of April in 
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  The venue for this meeting is the 
InterContinental Amstel Hotel.

The event is targeted towards large projects and medium to large enterprises 
wishing to discuss their existing licence compliance processes.  Parties 
attending are expected to contribute to issues ranging from process 
development through to optimising purchasing contract language for the 
benefit of the European Free Software community.

Harald Welte and Armijn Hemel will be attending to represent 
gpl-violations.org, and Dr. Till Jaeger will deliver a talk on licence 
enforcement.  Ciaran O'Riordan (FSFE Brussels and patent issue 
representative), Shane Coughlan (FSFE legal coordinator) and Marko Milenovic 
(FTF team member) will represent FSFE.

This workshop has limited space available and therefore attendance is by 
invitation only.  Projects and companies interested in attending this event 
should contact the FTF at ftf at fsfeurope.org.  

The European Licensing and Legal Workshop for Free Software is one of the 
activities of FSFE's Freedom Task Force, also known as the FTF.  The FTF is an 
infrastructure project that can help individuals, projects and businesses 
understand Free Software licensing and the opportunities that it presents. The 
FTF works in partnership with gpl-violations.org to deal with licence 
violations in the European arena.

The FTF undertakes several activities, ranging from the operation of a 
European Legal and Technical Network which currently covers sixteen European 
countries and with contacts around the world through to delivering training 
and consultancy in Free Software licensing. It provides a variety of services 
for individuals, community projects and commercial businesses with the aim of 
fostering best practice throughout the industry.  

For more information about the FTF or the first European Licensing and Legal 
Workshop please contact the FTF:

The Freedom Task Force can be emailed at ftf at fsfeurope.org

Belgium: +32 2 747 03 57 	ext 408
Germany: +49 700 373 38 76 73 	ext 408
Sweden: +46 31 7802160 		ext 408
Switzerland: +41 43 500 03 66 	ext 408
UK: +44 29 200 08 17 7 		ext 408

The Freedom Task Force website is located at http://www.fsfeurope.org/ftf/


About the Free Software Foundation Europe:

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit non-governmental 
organisation active in many European countries and involved in many global 
activities. Access to software determines participation in a digital society. 
To secure equal participation in the information age, as well as freedom of 
competition, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is 
dedicated to the furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, 
study, modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, 
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by 
supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.

Further information: http://fsfeurope.org 

From press at fsfeurope.org  Wed Feb 20 12:14:02 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (press at fsfeurope.org)
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:14:02 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] Introducing Document Freedom Day - 26 March: A global
	day for document liberation
Message-ID: <87r6f7g9s5.fsf@fsfeurope.org>

[ http://documentfreedom.org/News/20080220 ]

  Introducing Document Freedom Day
   26 March: A global day for document liberation
   Sign up your DFD team today!

The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation
with grassroots action for promotion of Free Document Formats and Open
Standards in general. The DFD was initiated and is supported by a group
of organisations and companies, including, but not limited to, the Free
Software Foundation Europe, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, IBM, Red Hat
and Sun Microsystems, Inc.

On 26 March 2008, the Document Freedom Day will provide a global
rallying point for Document Liberation and Open Standards. It will
literally give teams around the world the chance to "hoist the flag":

A "DFD Starter Pack" containing a flag, t-shirt, leaflets and stickers
is in preparation and is planned to be sent out in the first weeks of
March to the first 100 teams that sign up. Sixteen teams already signed
up during the preparation phase of the DFD prior to this release. Sign
your team up now!

"We're proud to support this global effort to encourage open and
inclusive information exchange," said Marino Marcich, Managing Director,
OpenDocument Format Alliance.  "Document freedom means creating,
exchanging, and preserving your electronic documents without having to
buy software from a particular vendor."

"Data lock-in and subsequent vendor lock-in are some of the most severe
issues users are facing today," says FSFE president Georg Greve. "Yet
most people only realise this connection when it is too late and they
have effectively lost control over their own data. We are supporting the
Document Freedom Day to help raise awareness for this issue by starting
with something that affects pretty much all users of computers: text
documents, spreadsheets and presentations."

"Free document formats and open standards are important elements in the
continued expansion of the global open source community," said Tom
Rabon, executive vice president, Corporate Affairs at Red Hat.  "Red Hat
strongly supports Document Freedom Day and encourages participation by
all who look forward to the day when documents are controlled by those
who own them, not necessarily by those who create the technology to
access those documents."

Simon Phipps, Chief Open Source Officer, Sun Microsystems stated, "As I
explained in my paper "Freedom to Leave" [*], it's fundamental in the
emerging market for people to be free to use any software they desire to
handle their data. I fully support the goals of Document Freedom."
[*] http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dhb29vwq_3dzb2cs

Alexandre Oliva of the Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA)
comments: "When you save your documents using a Free Open Standard
format such as ODF, you're also saving your own future, ensuring your
continued ability to access, decode and convert their contents."

Graham Taylor Director of OpenForum Europe: "OpenForum Europe applauds
the announcement of Document Freedom Day. The whole essence of
'openness' is captured by the right of users, citizens,
governments... to be able to freely access and exchange documents today
and in the future. Nothing gives greater meaning to the prevalent danger
of lock-in to proprietary solutions, and for the need for Government to
act now."


About the Document Freedom Day:

  The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document
  Liberation. It is a day of grassroots effort around the world to
  promote and build awareness for the relevance of Free Document Formats
  in particular and Open Standards in general. The DFD is supported by a
  large group of organisations and individuals, including, but not
  limited to Ars Aperta, COSS, Esoma, Free Software Foundations Europe
  and Latin America, IBM, NLnet, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, OSL,
  iMatix, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, Inc., The Open Learning Centre,
  Opentia, Estandares Abiertos.

  The list of DFD supporting groups can be found at
    http://documentfreedom.org/Who

  The list of DFD teams is available at
    http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams


Further information:
  http://documentfreedom.org


Contact:
  contact at documentfreedom.org

  Graham Taylor      graham at openforumeurope.org
  Ivan Jelic         jelic at fsfeurope.org
  Kerri Catallozzi   kcatallo at redhat.com
  Marino Marcich     mmarcich at odfalliance.org
  Marko Milenovic    milenovic at fsfeurope.org
  Terri Molini       terri.molini at sun.com
  FSFLA		     info at fsfla.org

From press at fsfeurope.org  Fri Feb 22 16:31:42 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (press at fsfeurope.org)
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:31:42 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] Microsoft pledge excluding primary competitors
Message-ID: <87k5kx6m8x.fsf@fsfeurope.org>


    Microsoft pledge excluding primary competitors

Yesterday's media briefing by Microsoft on its its pledge to release
interoperability information for flagship products contained little
actual news.  Over the years Microsoft has made multiple similar pledges
and they at times proved to be detrimental rather than beneficial for
interoperability.  Examining the terms of the Microsoft's latest action
shows no major change of policy.

The announcement confirmed that Microsoft was planning to use its
software patent portfolio against interoperating products by requiring a
patent license for all commercial activity. [2] This is consistent with
its previous attempts at allowing competition only where it provides no
actual challenge to its monopolies.

Microsoft's patent licences are incompatible with Free Software, the
primary competitor to Microsoft in many markets. Almost all major
competitors have made significant investments in Free Software and built
substantial parts of their business on the principles of freedom of
competition and innovation.

Free Software's freedoms to use, study, share and improve software
without additional restrictions are key to the success and utility of
Free Software in both commercial and non-commercial ICT
infrastructure. They are also the basis for many of today's working
examples of interoperability and competition.

Microsoft's announcement contains little more than a statement that they
will support interoperability only under terms that disallow fair
competition.  Their press statements may indicate otherwise, but terms
of release highlight this explicitly.  There has never been a shortage
of promises by Microsoft, but results are what must be considered rather
than words.

Regrettably, the lack of substance in the pledge and the timing suggest
that Microsoft is primarily hoping for positive media coverage and not an
examination of the substance of their limited interoperability release.

It can be no coincidence that delegates are meeting in Geneva for the
Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM) during this period to discuss serious
issues in the proposed MS-OOXML format [3], through which Microsoft aims
to reaffirm their control over standards in the global marketplace. [4]

If Microsoft truly means to facilitate interoperability and fair access
they should spare delegates the BRM, retract MS-OOXML from ISO and
converge this work into the global effort for the Open Document Format,
the existing Open Standard at ISO for office documents.

They should also release full interoperability information for all their
products without restrictions of any kind.

[1] http://mailman.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2006q1/000126.html
[2] http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/feb08/02-21ExpandInteroperabilityPR.mspx
[3] http://fsfeurope.org/documents/msooxml-idiosyncrasies
[4] http://news.zdnet.co.uk/leader/0,1000002982,39292519,00.htm



About the Free Software Foundation Europe:

 The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
 non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
 involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
 participation in a digital society.  To secure equal participation in
 the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
 Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
 furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
 modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
 securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
 Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
 of the FSFE.

Further information: http://fsfeurope.org 

From press at fsfeurope.org  Thu Feb 28 16:49:09 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (Free Software Foundation Europe)
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:49:09 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] FSFE calls on Microsoft to release interoperability
 information without restrictions
Message-ID: <47C6D7F5.2030104@fsfeurope.org>

	FSFE calls on Microsoft to release interoperability information
	without restrictions

The European Commission has fined Microsoft 899 million Euro for
anti-competitive behaviour by restricting access to interoperability
information through unreasonable royalty payments prior to October
2007.  This is in addition previous fines of 497 million Euro and 280
million Euro applied in the same investigation, resulting in a total
penalty of 1.676 billion Euro.

"Microsoft is the last company that actively promotes the use of
software patents to restrict interoperability. This kind of behaviour
has no place in an Internet society where all components should connect
seamlessly regardless of their origin," says Georg Greve, president of
the Free Software Foundation Europe.

"The idea that interoperability information for software can be
restricted by software patents is simply unacceptable," comments Shane
Coughlan, head of FSFE's Freedom Task Force.  "The Commission is now
recognising this issue in the context of understanding that patent
royalties can distort the market.  We have to ensure that such
distortion does not occur again.  If Microsoft wants to act in good
faith it should release all the interoperability information for its
products on a royalty free basis."

"Microsoft have abused their monopoly position to prevent competition
and choice," says Jonas Oberg, vice-president of Free Software
Foundation Europe. "Yesterday's decision by the Commission is step
towards correcting this but Microsoft are still reaping the benefits of
their abuse. We need to act to restore a free market in European software."

Context - The European Commission press release:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/318&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

About the Free Software Foundation Europe:

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in the
information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the furthering of
Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy.
Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, securing Free
Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.

Contact:
You can reach the FSFE switchboard from:
Belgium: 	+32 2 747 03 57
Germany: 	+49 700 373 38 76 73
Sweden: 	+46 31 7802160
Switzerland: 	+41 43 500 03 66
UK: 		+44 29 200 08 17 7

Media contact: Shane Coughlan, FTF Coordinator, FSFE extension: 408
mobile: +41792633406
Further information: http://fsfeurope.org


From press at fsfeurope.org  Thu Feb 28 15:11:36 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (Free Software Foundation Europe)
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:11:36 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] FSFE calls on Microsoft to release interoperability
 information without restrictions
Message-ID: <47C6C118.4090003@fsfeurope.org>

	FSFE calls on Microsoft to release interoperability information
	without restrictions

The European Commission has fined Microsoft 899 million Euro for
anti-competitive behaviour by restricting access to interoperability
information through unreasonable royalty payments prior to October
2007.  This is in addition previous fines of 497 million Euro and 280
million Euro applied in the same investigation, resulting in a total
penalty of 1.676 billion Euro.

"Microsoft is the last company that actively promotes the use of
software patents to restrict interoperability. This kind of behaviour
has no place in an Internet society where all components should connect
seamlessly regardless of their origin," says Georg Greve, president of
the Free Software Foundation Europe.

"The idea that interoperability information for software can be
restricted by software patents is simply unacceptable," comments Shane
Coughlan, head of FSFE's Freedom Task Force.  "The Commission is now
recognising this issue in the context of understanding that patent
royalties can distort the market.  We have to ensure that such
distortion does not occur again.  If Microsoft wants to act in good
faith it should release all the interoperability information for its
products on a royalty free basis."

"Microsoft have abused their monopoly position to prevent competition
and choice," says Jonas Oberg, vice-president of Free Software
Foundation Europe. "Yesterday's decision by the Commission is step
towards correcting this but Microsoft are still reaping the benefits of
their abuse. We need to act to restore a free market in European software."

Context - The European Commission press release:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/318&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

About the Free Software Foundation Europe:

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in the
information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the furthering of
Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy.
Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, securing Free
Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.

Contact:
You can reach the FSFE switchboard from:
Belgium: 	+32 2 747 03 57
Germany: 	+49 700 373 38 76 73
Sweden: 	+46 31 7802160
Switzerland: 	+41 43 500 03 66
UK: 		+44 29 200 08 17 7

Media contact: Shane Coughlan, FTF Coordinator, FSFE extension: 408
mobile: +41792633406
Further information: http://fsfeurope.org


From press at fsfeurope.org  Sat Mar  1 12:49:13 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (press at fsfeurope.org)
Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:49:13 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] Google helps FSFE's Freedom Task Force to deliver
	training, attend conferences and translate documents.
Message-ID: <87tzjqr7eu.fsf@fsfeurope.org>

      Google helps FSFE's Freedom Task Force to deliver training, attend
      conferences and translate documents.

Google has made a donation to assist FSFE's Freedom Task Force with
delivering training courses, attending conferences and localising
documents.

"The Freedom Task Force is working to foster effective legal
infrastructure for Free Software in Europe.  A great deal of our work is
based on engaging directly with people and Google's contribution will
allow us to do this more effectively," says Shane Coughlan, FTF
Coordinator.  "Training, physical presence in countries and providing
materials in local languages are essential aspects of building a
coherent pan-European community."

"Free Software Foundation Europe has been working to promote and protect
Free Software in Europe for many years and the Freedom Task Force is a
good example of their long-term approach to supporting the community,"
says Jeremy Allison, Member of the Technical Staff - Software Engineer,
Google.  "I believe that they are doing useful work and I'm proud to see
Google supporting their activities."

FSFE's Freedom Task Force helps individuals, projects and businesses
understand Free Software licensing and the opportunities that it
presents.  The activities of the FTF includes providing training
courses, consultancy and operating a European Legal and Technical
Network.  It fosters best practice throughout the European Free Software
community.

The FTF is operated on a non-profit basis under the auspices of Free
Software Foundation Europe.

For more information about the FTF or the first European Licensing and
Legal Workshop please contact Shane Coughlan:

The Freedom Task Force can be found at http://www.fsfeurope.org/ftf/
The Freedom Task Force can be emailed at ftf at fsfeurope.org

About the Free Software Foundation Europe:

   The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
   non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
   involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
   participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
   the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
   Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
   furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
   modify and copy.  Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these
   issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving
   people Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central
   issues of the FSFE.

Contact:

   You can reach the FSFE switchboard from:
    Belgium:     +32 2 747 03 57 ext 408
    Germany:     +49 700 373 38 76 73 ext 408
    Sweden:      +46 31 7802160 ext 408
    Switzerland: +41 43 500 03 66 ext 408
    UK:          +44 29 200 08 17 7 ext 408 

   Shane Coughlan, FTF Coordinator,  FSFE extension: 408

   Further information: http://fsfeurope.org

From press at fsfeurope.org  Wed Mar  5 11:15:55 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (Free Software Foundation Europe)
Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:15:55 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] FSFE context briefing: Interoperability woes with
	MS-OOXML
Message-ID: <47CE72DB.1090009@fsfeurope.org>

	FSFE context briefing: Interoperability woes with MS-OOXML

FSFE has released a context briefing that highlights three examples of
how the proposed MS-OOXML specification and its practical implementation
in MS Office 2007 hinders interoperability, fosters vendor dependence
and results in market distortion.  The proposed MS-OOXML/DIS29500
specification continues to raise serious technical and legal concerns.

At the recent ISO Ballot Resolution Meeting for the proposed
specification more than 1,000 technical concerns and proposed
dispositions required discussion.  Participants were only able to
discuss between 20 to 30 dispositions and to accept approximately 200
minor editorial corrections in the allocated time.  Around 900
dispositions were not addressed.

"The standardisation process is being tested quite extensively by this,"
says Shane Coughlan, FSFE's legal coordinator.  "It is important that
standards are open and do not exclude anyone.  Interoperability and
access are not optional components of a fair digital society."

FSFE's perspective is that there is only one reasonable response by
national bodies: move DIS29500 out of the FastTrack process by voting
?DISAPPROVE, with comments? and suggest methods of handling the proposed
specification through the normal ISO process, ideally by convergence
into ISO/IEC 26300, the Open Document Format (ODF).

For more information see:
  http://fsfeurope.org/documents/msooxml-interoperability

Download a PDF copy of the context briefing (1.3M):
  http://fsfeurope.org/documents/msooxml-interoperability.pdf


About the Free Software Foundation Europe:

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in the
information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the furthering of
Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy.
Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, securing Free
Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.

Contact:
You can reach the FSFE switchboard from:
Belgium: 	+32 2 747 03 57
Germany: 	+49 700 373 38 76 73
Sweden: 	+46 31 7802160
Switzerland: 	+41 43 500 03 66
UK: 		+44 29 200 08 17 7

Media contact: Shane Coughlan, FTF Coordinator, FSFE extension: 408
mobile: +41792633406

Further information: http://fsfeurope.org




From press at fsfeurope.org  Thu Mar  6 16:42:38 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (press at fsfeurope.org)
Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:42:38 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] Petition calls for Open Standards in the European
	Parliament
Message-ID: <87iqzz505t.fsf@fsfeurope.org>

New petition calls for Open Standards in the European Parliament 

                                                    Brussels ? 6 March 2008. 

At a time when the EU Commission investigates the anti-competitive
behaviour of a market-dominant player, the European Parliament (EP)
still imposes that same specific software choice on both the European
Union's citizens and its own MEPs.  OpenForum Europe, The European
Software Market Association, and the Free Software Foundation Europe
today launched a petition to call on the EP to use Open Standards so
that all citizens can participate in the democratic process.

Graham Taylor, Chief Executive of OpenForum Europe says: "The benefits
of the Internet were achieved from Open Standards, freedom of access,
participation for all, innovation where it really mattered.  Not
proprietary lock-in and monopoly.  Government and Parliament need to
show leadership in ensuring full participation for all its citizens.

Pieter Hintjens, General Secretary of Esoma explains, "Small businesses
are moving to modern Open Standards like Open Document Format, yet to
write to their MEPs they have to switch back to old proprietary formats?
The EP should lead the way in open government, starting with Open
Standards for documents and recordings."

Ciaran O?Riordan, FSFE adds, "If our elected representatives don't like
a software package or its terms of use, they should be able to choose
another software package.  This issue and the promotion of Open
Standards must be tackled together to get past a chicken and egg
problem: Not being able to choose your software often means you're stuck
with one vendor's proprietary format, and using that proprietary format
means you, and everyone you communicate with, is shoe-horned into using
the same vendor's software.  For FSFE, it is important that MEPs be able
to choose Free Software."

The signatories are encouraging citizens and other stakeholder groups to
publicly support the objectives of the petition by signing up on
www.openparliament.eu

Background

It is the right of all citizens to be able to freely communicate with
their elected representatives, and have full and free access to the
proceedings of Parliament. In today?s electronic world of the internet,
email and video streaming, citizens rightly have high expectations on
the European Parliament to ensure full participation without technical
restriction.  Yet it is a fact that the domination of current suppliers,
unless challenged, does impose unnecessary restriction, forcing citizens
to purchase specific software, maintaining lock-in to that supplier and
limiting competition and choice.

Openness is all about the freedom to innovate, integrate and
participate. For example there are already internationally approved
standards for document exchange, supported by a multitude of competitive
main stream products - yet these standards are unsupported by the
European Parliament, which instead only supports products based on
proprietary protocols. Not only does this potentially increase cost,
restrict access and impact social inclusion, but it restricts the
opportunity to take advantage of new innovation offered by tomorrow's
technology.

The co-signatories of this Petition call on the European Parliament to
open up their IT systems, maximising the use of Open Standards and
ensure full democracy for its citizens.

About OFE

  OpenForum Europe is not-for-profit, independent of any organisation
  and was launched in March 2002 to accelerate, broaden and strengthen
  the use of Open Source Software in business and government. OFE
  pursues the vision of an open, competitive European IT market by 2010
  in line with the European Commission i2010 Strategy, with the mission
  of facilitating open competitive choice for IT users. OFE is supported
  by major IT suppliers and works closely with the market, both direct
  and via national associates and partners. www.openforumeurope.org

About Esoma

  The European Software Market Association (Esoma) is the voice of the
  independent IT firms, professionals, and consumers. Founded in January
  2007 by the FFII, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the removal
  of barriers to competition in IT and largely responsible for the
  rejection of the EU software patent directive in July 2005, Esoma
  promotes healthy practices on the software market. Esoma fills the gap
  for a European trade association speaking specifically for SME IT
  firms.As a not-for-profit organisation, it is mostly funded from
  membership fees and donations. www.esoma.org

About FSFE

  The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
  non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
  involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
  participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
  the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
  Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
  furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
  modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
  securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
  Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
  of the FSFE.

For further information please contact:

 Graham Taylor, Chief Executive of OFE, +44(0)1372 815168
 Pieter Hintjens, General Secretary of ESOMA, +32 (0)475 235 984
 Ciaran O?Riordan, FSFE, +32(0)477 364 419

From press at fsfeurope.org  Mon Mar 17 17:28:45 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (Free Software Foundation Europe)
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:28:45 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] FSFE Newsletter
Message-ID: <nl.200802.txt@fsfeurope.org>

It has been an exceptional month.  The European Commission has fined
Microsoft an additional 899 million Euro for continuing to restrict
access to interoperability information prior to October 2007 and the
ISO Ballot Resolution Meeting in Geneva failed to address most of the
serious issues and ultimately ended up waving through the bulk of ECMA
responses without review.  Public awareness of issues relating to
software freedom have been raised dramatically.

Perhaps the key word for this month is precedent.  The EC anti-trust
fine is the first of its kind in Europe and draws a line regarding
fair access and good corporate behaviour in Europe.  The MS-OOXML
process has clearly demonstrated how international standardisation is
struggling to meet current needs. Fairness, access and lack of
restrictions have become central to debates around the evolution of
the digital sphere.  New precedents are being set which enshrine these
values, and where such precedents do not exist it is becoming clear
that they need to be created.  This is good news for Free Software and
it's good news for society at large.

						Shane, FSFE Zurich Office


1. Microsoft's so-called 'interoperability' pledge excludes primary competitors
2. FSFE calls on Microsoft to release interoperability information without restrictions
3. FSFE at FOSDEM in Brussels, Belgium
4. SELF conference in Sofia, Bulgaria
5. FSFE participates in a global day for document liberation
6. FSFE announces the first European Licensing and Legal Workshop
7. Jonas ?berg in Sofia, Bulgaria
8. FSFE Context Briefing on DIS-29500: Deprecated before use?
9. "Fairware" for the Protestant Church in Gemany
10. Late breakfast for Rhineland Fellows
11. RMS in Berlin

FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
12. Free Software in the public sector' training course in Zurich, Switzerland
13. Speech on Free Software licensing and the GPLv3 at OSiM USA
14. FSFE booth at OpenCamp in Rome, Italy
15. Introduction to Free Software licensing' training course in Zurich, Switzerland
16. Strategic implementation of Free Software


1. Microsoft's so-called 'interoperability' pledge excludes primary competitors

The Microsoft pledge to release interoperability information for
flagship products contained little actual news. The announcement
confirmed that Microsoft was planning to use its software patent
portfolio against interoperating products by requiring a patent
license for all commercial activity. This is consistent with its
previous attempts at allowing competition only where it provides no
actual challenge to its monopolies.

  http://fsfeurope.org/news/2008/news-20080222-01


2. FSFE calls on Microsoft to release interoperability information without restrictions

The European Commission has fined Microsoft 899 million Euro for
anti-competitive behaviour by continuing to restrict access to
interoperability information. "Microsoft is the last company that
actively promotes the use of software patents to restrict
interoperability. This kind of behaviour has no place in an Internet
society where all components should connect seamlessly regardless of
their origin," says Georg Greve, president of the Free Software
Foundation Europe.

  http://fsfeurope.org/news/2008/news-20080228-01


3. FSFE at FOSDEM in Brussels, Belgium

Like the years before, Free Software Foundation Europe had a booth at FOSDEM, 
one of the biggest Free Software conferences in Europe.  This year FSFE shared 
its booth with the Free Knowledge Foundation, a Spanish associate organisation
[1].  About fifteen team members and volunteers from FSFE helped out at the 
booth by answering questions and talked to interested people.  One of the big 
topics was Document Freedom Day, and everyone at the booth helped explain its
importance [2].

[1] http://www.libre.org/
[2] http://www.fsfe.org/en/fellows/michael_kallas/images/fosdem_2008/document_freedom_day_promoting_device_rear_view


4. SELF conference in Sofia, Bulgaria

Jonas ?berg, vice president of the FSFE, participated in a SELF
conference in Sofia, Bulgaria the 10th of February, where he gave a
talk about e-learning and Free Software. The talk was part of an event
that took place during a SELF board meeting in Sofia, and gathered
teachers and activists from the area.


5. FSFE participates in a global day for document liberation

The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation
with grassroots action for promotion of Free Document Formats and Open
Standards in general. The DFD was initiated and is supported by a
group of organisations and companies, including, but not limited to,
the Free Software Foundation Europe, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe,
IBM, Red Hat and Sun Microsystems, Inc. On 26 March 2008, the Document
Freedom Day will provide a global rallying point for Document
Liberation and Open Standards.

  http://fsfeurope.org/news/2008/news-20080220-01
  http://documentfreedom.org/


6. FSFE announces the first European Licensing and Legal Workshop

FSFE's Freedom Task Force announced the first European Licensing and
Legal Workshop for Free Software will be held on Friday the 11th of
April in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The event is targeted towards
large projects and medium to large enterprises wishing to discuss
their existing licence compliance processes. Parties attending are
expected to contribute to issues ranging from process development
through to optimising purchasing contract language for the benefit of
the European Free Software community.

  http://fsfeurope.org/news/2008/news-20080214-01


7. Jonas ?berg in Sofia, Bulgaria

Jonas ?berg, vice president of the FSFE, gave a talk on the 7th of
February in an event about ICT use in public administrations. His talk
was about how to do procurement of Free Software, using knowledge
gained from Sweden, and took place in Sofia, Bulgaria.


8. FSFE Context Briefing on DIS-29500: Deprecated before use?

When ECMA submitted MS-OOXML as ECMA-376 to ISO for fast-track
approval, several countries criticised overlap with the existing ISO
standard ISO/IEC 26300:2006, the Open Document Format (ODF). [...]
Considering that alleged preservation of idiosyncrasies is the stated
reason for the entire DIS-29500 ISO process, FSFE considers it
worthwhile to investigate this claim in greater depth.  The result of
this investigation is a compact context briefing.

  http://fsfeurope.org/documents/msooxml-idiosyncrasies


9. "Fairware" for the Protestant Church in Gemany

For many years now the churches have supported fair trade.  Because of this the 
ethical principles of Free Software are a real match with the IT needs of 
churches.

A practical start to introducing Free Software was undertaken on the 23th of 
February. In an event of the Protestant Church in Verden (near Bremen, Germany),
the use of "Fairware", as they called Free Software, was discussed. Bernhard
Reiter gave a lecture on Free Software and answered several questions of the 
interested audience. The event was very successful. Thanks to Andreas Bergmann 
and Detlev Rakebrand who have organized the event and are promoting Free 
Software within their communities.


10. Late breakfast for Rhineland Fellows

At 2008-03-02 the second "late breakfast" of the Fellows at Rhineland took 
place in the Duesseldorf Office of FSFE.  There were twice as many people as 
at the first "late breakfast".  Upgrade problems, free geo data and IT 
security in enterprises were the topics discussed while enjoying coffee 
and breakfast .  There are now plans to make this a regular event.


11. RMS in Berlin

On his visit to Europe, Richard Stallman gave a speech on the history
and philosophy of Free Software in Berlin. The local Fellowship group
together with the newthinking-store put up a booth to inform the
visitors about ways to participate in the Free Software movement.
Around 200 people listened to Richard Stallman's speech, which was
concluded with a round of questions and the recitation of "The Free
Software Song"[1]. The Fellowship group really enjoyed the speech and
the fruitful discussions with the participants afterwards.

  http://www.gnu.org/music/free-software-song.html


FORTHCOMING EVENTS:


12. Free Software in the public sector' training course in Zurich, Switzerland

Shane Coughlan, FTF coordinator, will deliver a training course
examining how Free Software can be used in the public sector on Friday
the 7th of March. The course will be delivered between 13:00-16:00 at
the FSFE Zurich office. There is no cost to attend this course, but
due to limited space all those wishing to come should register their
interest beforehand through the FTF contact form.

  http://fsfeurope.org/projects/ftf/form.html


13. Speech on Free Software licensing and the GPLv3 at OSiM USA

Shane Coughlan, FTF coordinator, will deliver a speech entitled
'Analysing Whether GPLv3 Has Improved Free Software Licensing' at OSiM
USA on Tuesday the 11th of March in San Francisco. The speech will
cover topics ranging from the creation of GPLv3 and its place in
licensing through to examining the place of GPLv3 in tomorrow's
market.


14. FSFE booth at OpenCamp in Rome, Italy

The FSFE will be present with a booth at the OpenCamp event
organized by the Sapienza Linux User Group in Rome on 15th March
(http://barcamp.org/OpenCamp). The booth will offer FSFE
merchandising, information about current activities and a meeting
point for all interested people and Fellows.


15. Introduction to Free Software licensing' training course in Zurich, Switzerland

Shane Coughlan, FTF coordinator, will deliver a training course to
introduce people to Free Software licensing concepts on Friday the
21st of March. The course will be delivered between 13:00-16:00 at the
FSFE Zurich office. There is no cost to attend this course, but due to
limited space all those wishing to come should register their interest
beforehand through the FTF contact form.

  http://fsfeurope.org/projects/ftf/form.html


16. Strategic implementation of Free Software

On the 2nd of April FSFE and its Freedom Task Force (FTF) will give a
course on the Strategic implementation of Free Software in Business in
collaboration with the Internet Academy. The course will take place in
Stockholm, Sweden.  Those wishing to come should register their
interest beforehand through the FTF contact form.

  http://fsfeurope.org/projects/ftf/form.html



You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html

Copyright (C) FSFE.  Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire 
article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved. 


From press at fsfeurope.org  Wed Mar 26 00:42:57 2008
From: press at fsfeurope.org (press at fsfeurope.org)
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:42:57 +0100
Subject: [FSFE PR][EN] 26 March 2008: Today is Document Freedom Day
Message-ID: <87d4pi4bge.fsf@fsfeurope.org>

                       26 March 2008: Today is Document Freedom Day!

Today is Document Freedom Day: Roughly 200 teams from more than 60
countries worldwide are organising local activities to raise awareness
for Document Freedom and Open Standards. To support the initiatives
surrounding the first day to celebrate document liberation, DFD
starter packs containing a DFD flag, t-shirts and leaflets have been
sent to the first 100 registered teams over the past weeks.

In a world where records are increasingly kept in electronic form,
Open Standards are crucial for valuable information to outlive the
application in which it was initially generated. The question of
Document Freedom has severe repercussions for freedom of choice,
competition, markets and the sovereignty of countries and their
governments.

"We are very happy about the response and activities that teams around
the world have scheduled," says Ivan Jelic, DFD Coordinator.
"Activities  we have heard about range from local speeches and
information events through to prizes being given to governmental
bodies that adopted good policies in the field of Document Freedom and
Open Standards. It will be a challenge to document everything that is
taking place today."

"Who controls your valuable information? This question has become
central for the distribution of power and wealth in the networked
society," explains Georg Greve, president of FSFE. "Document Freedom
is about giving you control of your information, it is about giving
governments control of their public records, and it is about freedom
of choice. You can give yourself that freedom today by switching to
one of the many Free Software applications that support the Open
Document Format and that run on many different platforms!"

A list of Free Software applications that support ODF is available at

http://documentfreedom.org/Applications

Greve concludes: "Along with many others around the world, FSFE's
teams in several countries will be spending the day distributing
information about Open Standards and Document Freedom. My greetings
and gratitude go to everyone participating in this global effort,
particulary FSFE's young Serbian team who did the main work on DFD
regardless of a very difficult local situation!"

How you can get active

The Document Freedom Day is a collaborative effort.

You can make a difference by linking to http://documentfreedom.org,
generate your own artworks or use the ones available at

http://documentfreedom.org/Artwork or generate your own.

You could also print out some of the DFD leaflets at

http://www.documentfreedom.org/2008/DFD_Starter_Pack#Leaflet

and give them to your co-workers, family or friends. And if you feel
creative, consider taking pictures or small video testimonials that
show the world what Document Freedom means to you!

About the Document Freedom Day

The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation
with roughly 200 active teams worldwide. It is a day of grassroots
effort around the world to promote and build awareness for the
relevance of Free Document Formats in particular and Open Standards in
general.

Document Freedom Day is supported by a large group of organisations
and individuals, including, but not limited to Ars Aperta, COSS,
Esoma, Free Software Foundations Europe and Latin America, IBM, NLnet,
ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, OSL, iMatix, Red Hat, Sun
Microsystems, Inc., The Open Learning Centre, Opentia, Estandares
Abiertos.

The list of DFD supporting groups can be found

http://documentfreedom.org/Who

The list of DFD Teams is available at

http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams


About the Free Software Foundation Europe

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
of the FSFE.

http://fsfeurope.org