[Legal] Fwd: Vote for Commission's Patent Lobbying

[Michael Shigorin]

FYI

PS: crosspost, просьба отвечать в рассылку, где прочитали.

----- Forwarded message from Hartmut Pilch <phm/ffii.org> -----

Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2006 16:49:51 +0100
From: Hartmut Pilch <phm/ffii.org>
Subject: Vote for Commission's Patent Lobbying


Dear supporter of the FFII[1],

You have signed up as a supporter of the FFII as user 'mshigorn', thereby
giving us a mandate to represent your interests in European patent policy
matters.  Upon signing up, you also explicitely agreed to receive occasional
reports and alerts.  You can withdraw your mandate any time by logging into
your account at http://aktiv.ffii.org/ and choosing to "change your
user/member status" from the main menu[1].  However, as you can learn from our
website, the freedoms which you entrusted us to defend continue to be under
siege, and our work continues to produce results that deserve your support.

We are very grateful to all who voted previously in the polls for the "EV50
Europeans of the Year" and "Worst EU Lobbying Award".  Previously the level of
participation from our community in these actions has been tremendous which is
why, today, we would like to bring one more online poll to your awareness:

- Corporate Europe Observatory (corporateeurope.org), an organization that
  keeps track of questionable lobbying tactics and EU institutions or
  officials who "have their ears a little too open for one side of the story",
  has nominated the European Commission's DG Internal Market for this year's
  "Worst Privileged Access Award": http://www.worstlobby.eu/selectwinner.php
  for "manipulating a consultation on EU patent policies".

  In carrying out its' own round of additional consultation following the end
  of the official commission consultation "On the Future of European Patent
  Policy" together with "a disturbing degree of preferential treatment for
  corporate proponents of US-style software patents... DG Internal Market's
  flawed consultation raises the suspicion that it was primarily concerned
  with legitimising its own patent policy proposal no matter what."

  If, like us, you share concerns surrounding these issues you can vote "for"
  DG Internal Market: http://www.worstlobby.eu/selectwinner.php# and, if they
  "win", i.e.  if that consultation is chosen as the worst privileged access
  in the EU in 2006, then you will help draw attention to the unbalanced and
  flawed methods employed in drawing up Europe's innovation and patent policy.

- Corporate Europe Observatory are also running their 'Worst EU Lobbying
  Award" again which last year, the keen among you may remember, was won by
  "Campaign for Creativity" - nominated as a fake NGO brilliantly disguising
  corporate demands as grassroots concerns.  We trust you will find a suitable
  candidate of your own preference from the nominations this year as it is
  required that you vote for both categories.

Thank you for underscoring the importance of our cause to politicians, the
press and the public through your participation in such polls.

Best regards, 

Hartmut Pilch
phm/ffii.org
Vice President FFII

---
[1] This and other menu items become available only after you have completed the
   registration procedure.  As long as you are not fully registered, the menu
   merely prompts you to complete your registration.
   Btw, sorry for writing in English only this time.
 

----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
 ---- WBR, Michael Shigorin <mike на altlinux.ru>
  ------ Linux.Kiev http://www.linux.kiev.ua/