FSFE becomes WIPO observer
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On 25 November 2004 the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) announced that it was granted observer status in the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). (Click Read More to continue)
FSFE is the European sister organisation of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) which was founded in 1985 by Richard M. Stallman in the United States of America. Mr. Stallman is the coauthor of the GNU General Public License (GPL), the most famous copyleft software license, used by products such as the Linux(tm) kernel and the MySQL(tm) database. FSF (and FSFE) advocate the use of Free software, also known as Libre software (and closely related to Open-Source software). FSFE was founded in 2001 and seeks to politically and legally secure Libre software in Europe.
The terms Libre Software and Free Software are equivalent and describe software which is released under a license which grants specific freedoms as regards to copying and modifying its source code. FSF says that a program is Free if it provides the following four basic freedoms: "The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0); The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1), Access to the source code is a precondition for this; The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour (freedom 2); The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3), Access to the source code is a precondition for this." (source: fsf.org). The term Open-Source Software is mostly used by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) to describe software whose license satisfies the following criteria: Free Redistribution; (access to) Source Code; (creation of) Derived Works; Integrity of The Author's Source Code; No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups; No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor; Distribution of License; License Must Not Be Specific to a Product; License Must Not Restrict Other Software; License Must Be Technology-Neutral" (source: opensource.org). Most people use the terms Libre/Free and Open-Source as equivalent, although FSF suggests that the term Free Software is better.
WIPO is "an international organization dedicated to helping to ensure that the rights of creators and owners of intellectual property are protected worldwide and that inventors and authors are, thus, recognized and rewarded for their ingenuity" (Source: wipo.int). It was founded in 1970 and evolved from BIRPI (Bureaux Internationaux Réunis pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle - United International Bureau for the Protection of Intellectual Property) which was founded in 1893. WIPO became a specialised agency of the United Nations in 1974. It has about 180 member states and its decisions can influence local laws about copyright, patents and trademarks.
FSFE requested observer status in WIPO in 2003 and now has been granted it. There are about 172 observers in WIPO. The FSFE WIPO project team will work towards increasing the intellectual wealth of all of humankind and changing WIPO in order to reach this goal. FSFE had previously explained the need for a more flexible approach to intellectual rights at the international level by publishing its "Towards a World Intellectual Wealth Organisation - Supporting the Geneva Declaration" proposal. By becoming a WIPO observer, FSFE will be able to communicate with WIPO more effectivelly and may attract attention and support from decision makers.
- Official FSFE press release
- FSFE WIPO project team
- Slashdot.org discussion
- Discuss in Wikinerds Forum
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