Greenpeace has published a Study, in which it accuses the EPO of breaching the law, and they have induced the German Ministry of Justice to criticize the EPO for this.
Moreover, with the support of a few companies, we have formed a workgroup that has already, in the framework of the EuroLinux Alliance, had a meeting with the legislators in Brussels.
The Association for the Promotion of a Free Informational Infrastructure has, at the end of May, published and sent a letter to the EU competition commissioner Karel van Miert and pointed out the dangers of patents for the freedom of competition in the already now monopoly-ridden area of software. Currently a new letter action is under preparation.
Moreover we organised a Conference "Informational Monoculture and the Alternatives" in Cologne, where Jean-Paul Smets, who had already done thourough documenation and lobbying work in France, gave a lecture.
Before the Conference of the European Patent Organisations of 1999-06-24 in Paris we sent a letter to the two delegates of the German Ministery of Justice, which was answered. |