Events

OpenTechSummit 2015 in Berlin a Fantastic Success

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The OpenTechSummit 2015 took place for the first time in Berlin on May 14, 2015 with the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure as a core partner and supporter. With more than 700 attendees – from policy makers, developers, start-ups, to contributors – and over 70 speakers the event was a huge success. A wonderful atmosphere came up through the participation of lots of kids in the hacking area and in the workshops. Topics at the OpenTechSummit range from future technologies, open hardware, encyclopedias, open data and free knowledge, software development, community networks and digital policies. The FFII was the main responsible for the track “Internet, Society and Patents”.

Events

OpenTechSummit 2015 Berlin May 14

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The OpenTechSummit will take place for the first time in Berlin on May 14, 2015 with the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure as a core partner and supporter. The Free and Open Source technology event brings together policy makers, developers, start-ups, and contributors. Topics at the OpenTechSummit range from future technologies, open hardware, encyclopedias, open data and free knowledge, software development, community networks and digital policies. In the evening there will be an “OpenTech-Himmelfahrt” lounge. The FFII is the main responsible for the track “Internet, Society and Patents”.

Events

Meshcon FashionTec Week 2014 in Berlin

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The first Meshcon FashionTec Week took place from October 10-15, 2014 in Berlin with the support of the FFII e.V. The event attracted 23 speakers from around the world and gathered hundreds of attendees from the technology and fashion community. The FFII invited software engineers, creative minds and fashion hackers to the MeshCon 14’ in Berlin. The technology week is organised in cooperation with the TU Berlin, BBW, Wikimedia and the Mozilla Community. The Meshcon is about local production, design and distribution of textiles in a way that reaps the full benefit of the digital dividend. The goal of the event was to explore the benefits of participatory production in the textile industry.

FFII

Digital Minds & Fashion Makers gather at MeshCon from 10-15 October in Berlin

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Berlin, 26 September 2014 – The FFII invites software engineers, creative minds and fashion hackers to the MeshCon 14’ in Berlin. The technology week is organised in cooperation with the TU Berlin, BBW, Wikimedia and the Mozilla Community. The gathering is about local production, design and distribution of textiles in a way that reaps the full benefit of the digital dividend. More than 23 Speakers from 12 countries will talk about digital makeovers of knitting machines, open-source-pattern making software, their latest web start-ups, the digital design studio and wearables. FFII president Benjamin Henrion (BE) contributes a talk on the use of cheap wireless chipsets for wearables.

FFII

EPO software patents continue despite 10th anniversary of the European Parliament vote

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Brussels, 24 September 2013 — Ten years after the historical vote of the European Parliament to ban software patents, the EPO, the patent community and large companies continue to push for their validation through the Unitary Patent Court. Benjamin Henrion, president of the FFII, says: “Freedom of programming has won that day, but it did not take long for the enemies of freedom to fight back. While freedom fighters went back to their businesses and families, the patent community kept pushing for the next step, a central patent court in order to validate the software patents granted by the EPO.” FFII vice president Rene Mages declares : “The patent microcosm excels to lobby the European commission and to change the designation (in a way a clumsy strategy) specially when our activism is winning : CII, EPLA, London Agreement, UPLS, and now Unitary Patent with a new Patent Court but the main goal is an invariant : to make official an intolerable drift of the patentable subject matters since 1986 (see Vicom case law). This type of underhand drift is profit-making for the patent microcosm, that goes without saying.”

FFII

FFII condemns investor-to-state arbitration in trade talks with US

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Brussels, 14 June 2013 — The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) condemns the inclusion of investor-to-state dispute settlement in the mandate for trade talks with the United States. Investor-to-state dispute settlement gives multinationals the possibility to sue states for special tribunals if changes in law may lead to lower profits than expected. This threatens democracy, the public interest and copyright and patent law reform, according to the FFII. Today the EU Council is expected to grant the Commission a mandate to open trade negotiations with the United States. During the discussions on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), civil society groups warned that ACTA would make it impossible to reform dysfunctional aspects of copyright and patent law.

FFII

FFII letter to European Parliament Trade committee on agreement with US

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Today the FFII sent a letter to the European Parliament committee on International Trade. Thursday 25 April 2013 the committee will vote on 198 amendments to a draft resolution on the EU – US trade agreement (TTIP / TAFTA)

Text as pdf, or below:

22 April 2013

Dear Members of the International Trade committee,

We are writing to express our concerns with the proposed trade agreement with the US (TTIP). We invite you to take our concerns into account when voting on the amendments to the draft resolution on the TTIP. In this letter we argue that citizens have a right to openness; that all measures in the agreement have to fully respect our rights enshrined in human rights instruments, including the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; that the agreement has to exclude intellectual property rights; and that the Parliament has to step in and defend democracy and the Treaties by excluding investor to state dispute settlement from the agreement. Openness

The agreement will mostly attempt to deeply integrate EU and US laws, as the trade tariffs between the EU and US are already low.

FFII

German Bundestag challenges European software patenting

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Berlin, 18 April 2013 — A cross-partisan Deutsche Bundestag resolution on software patenting received its plenary first reading. The resolution asks for changes to the controversial granting of software patents by patent institutions. The resolution follows up on an earlier resolution from 2005 and sents a forceful German message to Commissioner Michel Barnier. Brussels is asked to take action on a clarification concerning the overlap of software copyright with patent law. The Bundestag which unlike the European Parliament enjoys a right of legislative initiative threatens to take national action.

FFII

taz.die tageszeitung receives Document Freedom Germany Award

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Berlin, 27 March 2013 — The German newspaper taz.die tageszeitung (TAZ) receives this year’s Document Freedom Day award. With this award, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) honour organisations that make exemplary use of Open Standards. Torsten Grote (FSFE), Ines Pohl (taz), Erik Albers (FSFE), Ralf Klever (taz), Frank Doepper (taz), Stephan Uhlmann (FFII
The TAZ receives the Document Freedom award because it delivers its electronic paper to its subscribers in a choice of open formats, and without digital restrictions (DRM). “We are awarding the TAZ with the Document Freedom Award for their longstanding commitment to Open Standards and continuos efforts in offering their newspaper without restrictions” says Erik Albers, Fellowship Coordinator Berlin. TAZ subscribers can receive their paper in HTML, PDF, ePub, and even plain text formats.

FFII

Civil society organisations say no to intellectual property in EU – US trade agreement

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Brussels, 18 March 2013 — More than 35 European and United States civil society organisations insist that a proposed trade agreement between the EU and the US exclude any provisions related to patents, copyright, trademarks, or other forms of so-called “intellectual property”. Such provisions could impede citizens’ rights to health, culture, and free expression and otherwise affect their daily lives. FFII analyst Ante Wessels: “The industry already dreams of setting a gold standard in areas such as intellectual property rights protection. Does that sound familiar? Yes, it does.