EuroLinux

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EuroLinux is a campaigning organisation that promotes open source software / free software in Europe, and that are opposed to the European Union's proposals to introduce laws on software patents. It is also known as EuroLinux Alliance. It is not the umbrella organisation for Linux User Groups in Europe.

It describes itself as: "The EuroLinux Alliance for a Free Information Infrastructure is an open coalition of commercial companies and non-profit associations united to promote and protect a vigorous European Software Culture based on copyright, open standards, open competition and open source software such as Linux. Corporate members or sponsors of EuroLinux develop or sell software under free, semi-free and non-free licenses for operating systems such as Linux, Mac OS or Microsoft Windows."

Eurolinux organised the public EU campaign against software patents that was signed by more than 300,000 people. Members include FFII, APRIL, AFUL, AEL, and European Linux user group (LUG) umbrella associations.

[edit] Criticisms

With respect to Eurolinux views on the issue of patentability of software-related inventions, some strongly criticize Eurolinux for disseminating deceptive information on the issue with highly efficient communication skills on the internet (using general purpose web sites, blogs, newsgroups and so on). For instance, Axel H. Horns wrote in an article published on the web site of the European Patent Institute:

"(...) the appalling efficiency of the Eurolinux propaganda can be seen as the result of their slyly strategy consisting, on the one hand, of an approach to re-define some of the basic concepts of patent law in violation of the codified law as well as of the case law and, on the other hand, of another approach to popularise the idea of a big conspiracy of all patent professionals in the governments, in the patent offices, in the courts, in law firms as well as in the industry, where all these individuals are involved in a common perversion of justice to their own benefit.",

-- The Protection of Software and the Crisis of the Patent System [1], p. 14.