[WSIS CS-Plenary] RE: [WSIS-CT] Opening Ceremony Speaker PCT proposal : Richard Stallman

[Beatriz Busaniche]

Francis
I am completely agree with this proposal,  did you ask Richard about it?

Regards from Buenos Aires! 

Lic. Beatriz Busaniche
busaniche at caminandoutopias.org.ar
Centro de Teletrabajo y Teleformación
www.caminandoutopias.org.ar



-----Mensaje original-----
De: ct-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:ct-admin at wsis-cs.org] En nombre de Dr.
Francis MUGUET
Enviado el: miércoles, 05 de noviembre de 2003 14:36
Para: plenary at wsis-cs.org
CC: ct at wsis-cs.org
Asunto: [WSIS-CT] Opening Ceremony Speaker PCT proposal : Richard Stallman


 Hello everybody 

 Besides the selection rules that have been just proposed by the C&T  for
discussions and that of course we fully intend to abide, 
 it has been recognized that the discussion concerning 
 the Opening Ceremony speaker has already started and obviously 
 this choice requires a very broad consensus. Therefore the 
 PCT group is setting forward a proposition for discussions.

------------------------------------------------------------

Our propositions is based both
on the merits of the speaker
as well as the purpose and usefulness of his intervention.

Without Richard Stallman, the information society would probably be the
dominion of ruthless monopolies, leaving little practical possibilities for
any freedom at all. Without the Free Software movement, without the GPL,
there would have been probably no GNU/Linux operating systems that now
running on the vast majority of Web servers. Richard Stallman is well versed
with all the technical, legal, economical and philosophical aspects of the
issues of the Civil Society.

It is proposed that the first part of his speech (about 2/3 ) should convey
the declarations that would have prepared by the various thematics groups of
the Civil Society as compiled by the C&T drafting group.

In the last part, Richard Stallman should focus on the issue of Free
Software and Software patents. As all of you are aware, the fight against
software patents is a crucial issue, and a decisive battle is now been
fought in Europe that is going to have worldwide consequences. It is
proposed that in the name of the CS; Richard Stallman would publicly
challenge Mr. Frits Bolkestein, the European Commissioner to accept the
decision of the European parliament and not to try to remove the patent
directive, as he threatened he would do, from the authority of the European,
parliament to put it under the authority of governments as a technocratic
re-negotiation of the European Patent Convention, in order to that software
patents be approved despite the vote of the parliament.!

The exact text from Frits Bolkestein
http://europa.eu.int/comm/commissioners/bolkestein/index_en.htm
http://swpat.ffii.org/players/bolkestein/index.en.h is :

"Now if we fail in our efforts to achieve a harmonization of patent law
relating to computer-implemented inventions in the European Union, we may
well be confronted with a renegotiation of the European Patent Convention.
And if I may be blunt, President, the process of renegotiation of the
European Patent Convention would not require any contribution from this
parliament. So the situation is clear: there is a single objective but a
choice of means. Either we proceed using the community method, or we take a
back seat and watch while member states go via the route of an
intergovernmental treaty.

Such a provocative undemocratic statement shall not
be tolerated by the CS. The message is that the Information Society shall
not be ruled by technocrats but with respect of the democratic rights. This
is a question of basic rights.

Therefore the purpose of the end of Richard Stallman intervention should be
dual : 1/ Help to remove the threat of software patent over Europe and over
the world. 2/ Reaffirm the rights of the people in front of an arrogant
technocracy at the service of special interests.

--------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------------------------------ 
Francis F. MUGUET Ph.D 
muguet at mdpi.org   muguet at ensta.fr  

MDPI Foundation   http://www.mdpi.net 

World Summit On the Information Society (WSIS)
Civil Society Working Groups 
Scientific Information :  http://www.wsis-si.org  chair 
Patents & Copyrights   :  http://www.wsis-pct.org co-chair
------------------------------------------------------ 

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