The end draws near…
MPlayer, xine, VLC, avifile, gstreamer, MythTV, Freevo and other free software multimedia players are seriously threatened by software patents due to the numerous patented multimedia techniques. Also threatened are the many programs built upon those players, and especially FFmpeg, which provides the framework all of the above players use.
Multimedia is a patent minefield. All important techniques and formats are covered by broad and trivial patents that are harming progress and alternative implementations, such as free software multimedia players.
The European commission has just passed its directive on software patents, violating democratic rules and procedures to the sole benefit of big non-European corporations and Ireland and to the detriment of small and medium sized businesses (which comprise 99% of the European software industry) and free software.
The European parliament will now be taking the last stand against software patents in a voting for which an absolute majority is needed. Such a majority is hard to come by in a parliament with a low attendance level.
But not all is lost yet as long as you decide it is time to make a difference and take action. This is our last opportunity to fend off software patents worldwide; there will be no second chance for the foreseeable future.
Signing petitions will not suffice. Contact your local EU representatives and educate them why software patents are a bad idea in the first place and why they must attend that parliament session to vote against them. Make it clear that they need to stop the machinations of the EU council and reaffirm the power of the EU parliament, the only democratically elected EU institution. For in-depth information and starting points to get active visit the software patent page of the FFII (Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure) and NoSoftwarePatents.com.
Residents of Greece can contact the Hellenic Initiative Against Software Patents (representative of the FFII in Greece) with offers for help, through it’s portal and mailing list. Greek citizens should petition their MEP’s directly.
Wish us luck, we will need it.
