128 lines
4.1 KiB
HTML
128 lines
4.1 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
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<!DOCTYPE html
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PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
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"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<html lang="en">
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<head>
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<title>FSF Europe - Secure Free Software in Europe</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<div> <!-- The header will be inserted here -->
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<!-- Begin page content -->
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<div align="center">
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<h2>Secure Free Software in Europe</h2>
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</div>
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<h3>Current Projects</h3>
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<ul>
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<li>The <a href="eucd/eucd.html">European Copyright Directive</a></li>
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<li><a href="siae/siae.html">SIAE</a>, an Italian software regulation law</li>
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</ul>
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<h3>General</h3>
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<p>
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One important goal of FSF Europe is to secure free software in Europe.
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</p>
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<p>
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The <a href="http://www.gnu.org/fsf/">FSF</a> and the <a
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href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">GNU General Public
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License</a> are very much the backbone of Free Software. The GPL and
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<a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/lesser.html">LGPL</a> are the
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predominant licenses used for Free Software; and not just inside the
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GNU-Project.
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</p>
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<p>
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A major reason for this is their carefully crafted balance between the
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freedoms of the individual and the interests of the public. Not only
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do they grant the four fundamental freedoms, they also protect them.
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</p>
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<p>
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Originating in the U.S., they have been written to do this job best
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according to Berne convention and the U.S. law. As the legal systems
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are significantly different in some countries, this left gaps
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and insecurities that leave Free Software weaker than it could be.
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</p>
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<p>
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Especially in countries with strong Free Software activities, the
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(L)GPL should be made as secure as possible. Doing this in Europe is a
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task the Free Software Foundation Europe will be dedicated to. Since
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most European signed the Berne convention we are in a favorable
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situation. Securing the (L)GPL licenses is only a matter of using the
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proper language and legal form, there is no need to revise or modify
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the concepts and basis of the licenses.
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</p>
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<p> Only a good lawyer with a strong understanding of copyright law
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can do this job. In addition it requires that he or she understands
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and favor Free Software to keep the spirit of the license unchanged.
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Working closely with Richard M. Stallman and Prof. <a
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href="http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/">Eben Moglen</a> will also be
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necessary to ensure the original spirit of the GPL is kept. </p>
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<h3>Vision</h3>
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<p>
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All the legal tasks should be connected and coordinated on a European
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level. At the same time the local laws in Europe are still pretty
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different, so the actual work will have to be done on a local level.
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</p>
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<p> For this purpose, we have an <a
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href="http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/fsfe-law/">internal mailing
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list</a> (fsfe-law@gnu.org, alias law@fsfeurope.org) that is for the
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lawyers we work with troughout Europe. This list should also act as a
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primer for a European network of FSF-lawyers. </p>
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<p>
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Lawyers and the legal system interact strongly with the political
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system and through the Universities and publications in this sector,
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it is possible to create a political climate favorable for Free
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Software.
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</p>
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<p>
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Also laws and decisions that are potentially harmful to Free Software
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will be brought to the awareness of the FSF(E) earlier and can be
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modified/countermanded more effectively.
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</p>
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<p>
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This legal network will allow securing the future for Free Software
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much more efficiently than we were able to do this in the past.
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</p>
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<p> The official translation is <a
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href="http://france.fsfeurope.org/gpl/gpl.en.html">already been worked on in
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France</a>.</p>
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<h3>How to help/join us</h3>
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<p> If you are interested to help/join us, <a
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href="mailto:law@fsfeurope.org">contact us</a> by email to
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law@fsfeurope.org.</p>
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<h3>See also</h3>
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<p>See also te FSF Europe actions at European level for the <a
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href="/documents/fp6/">6th Framework Programme of the European Community</a>.</p>
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</div><!-- The footer will be inserted here -->
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Last update:
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<!-- timestamp start -->
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$Date$ $ $Author$
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</body>
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</html>
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