Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure

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This article is about a foundation against software patents. For the video game, see Final Fight 2.

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure or FFII is a lobbying association based in Munich, Germany. It initially took emphasis on electronic data processing and on language and writing. Currently the FFII is active in the fight against software patents, not only in Europe but also in other parts of the world.

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[edit] Views of FFII

FFII's view is that software patents present a burden, not a benefit to society, as it is found by Economic studies such as:

and suggested by the

FFII has been active on this front at least since 2000 when an attempt to change the European Patent Convention to legitimize software patents failed. In 2003, it strongly lobbied the European Parliament against the proposed Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions.

FFII is the leading European NGO on this issue. Through its partnership with many other European organisations with the same goal, it has a reach across all nations of the EU.

FFII is directly supported e.g. by more than 1500 SME, many thousand software developers, tens of thousands of software users system administrators as well as a number of scientists, academics and economists.

FFII represents:

  • about 1,000 registered members
  • more than 1,500 companies
  • more than 2,000 CEOs of SMEs
  • more than 90,000 supporters worldwide
  • more than 400,000[1] signatures for a software-patent free Europe.

FFII organizes Conferences about the topic in Brussels, about twice a year, the last one took place on April 14, 2004 (together with a demonstration of more than 400 people against software patents) and November 9-10, 2004. In Karlsruhe, FFII organized a demonstration of about 1,000 people against software patents. See external link for details.

[edit] Structure of the FFII

The FFII was funded originally by donations from SuSE and Infomatec. The Open Society Institute has contributed regularly, as have Red Hat, and Stichting NLnet. The historical list of donors from 1999 to 2005 can be found on the FFII web site.

The FFII exists as a mother organisation with more or less formal chapters in many countries. The national FFII chapters (such as FFII France) handle national membership, media and lobbying, while the mother organisation operates at the EU level and in countries where there is no formal FFII organisation.

The FFII board currently consists of Jochen Ahleff (Treasurer), Antonis Christofides, Pieter Hintjens (President), Jan Macek, Jonas Maebe, Hartmut Pilch, co-founder of the association (Vice-President), and Gérald Sédrati-Dinet (Vice-President, President of FFII France).

[edit] Partners in Europe

EuroLinux, EFFI, ABUL, AFUL, FSF Europe, Vrijschrift, SKOSI (see links to lists of organisations below)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

National sections:

[edit] FTC/DoJ hearings and the report

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