Arlene McCarthy has been referring to the FSA in several papers which she has been sending to journalists starting in late August and persisting at least until mid september 2003, in spite of widely circulating papers pointing out that this organisation is imaginary.
Arlene McCarthy 2003/09/01: "The Myths - The Truth"- In response to the wave of protests against the proposed software patent directive COM(2002)92 2002/0047 in late August 2003, the European Parliament's rapporteur for this directive, Arlene McCarthy MEP, has published a "Factsheet" which attempts to explain that she has been a victim of a "misinformation campaign" and is in reality championning the protesters' cause. We republish the paper with comments here.
- Quinto Stato 2003-09-24: Brevetti software: intervista ad Arlene McCarthy
- In an interview with journalist Stefano Porro, McCarthy lashes out against the "Free Software Alliance" and recommends that people should look at this organisation's website. The FSA plays into the hands of the italian mafia by opposing legislation needed to crack down on their counterfeiting business. The FSA "radicals" must be distinguished from the "opensource moderates", whose legitimate concerns McCarthy is adequately addressing with her amendment proposals. These amendment proposals make sure not software as such but only genuine inventions such as the Eolas idea of extending web browsers by plug-ins are patentable. By opposing patents such as that of Eolas, the FSA plays into the hands of Microsoft and hurts the interests of innovative SMEs. Porro ends his article with some copy&pasting from McCarthy's press release of Sep 24, which presents the EP vote as a victory of McCarthy.
- Business Software Alliance and Software Patents
- BSA is an organisation founded in the USA and currently without official status in most European countries, controlled by Microsoft and a few other large members. BSA is specialised on copyright enforcement and, until recently, was uninterest in patents. Representatives of BSA in Europe have even pronounced themselves skeptical or hostile to software patents in public. However, during a recent campaign for the introduction of software patents in Europe, BSA's new director of public policy, Francisco Mingorance, became a close friend of the European Commission's patent lobby and even had a privileged opportunity to participate in the drafting of the directive proposal. Moreover, under Mingorance's direction, BSA became a supporter of extreme pro-patent positions. This is apparently not because Mingorance or BSA want software patents, but because it is Mingorance's job to entertain good relations with the European Commission, which again married the European Patent Office as a part of a strategy to transfer power from Munich to Brussels.
- Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure
- The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) is a non-profit association registered in Munich, which is dedicated to the spread of data processing literacy. FFII supports the development of public information goods based on copyright, free competition, open standards. More than 500 members, 1000 companies and 70000 supporters have entrusted the FFII to act as their voice in public policy questions in the area of exclusion rights (intellectual property) in data processing.
- EUROLINUX Alliance
- 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 vigourous 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 GNU/Linux, MacOS or MS Windows.
- FT: Europe shows little patience over patents
- Financial Times article extensively quotes patent lobby speakers, attributes setback in European Parliament to aggressive lobbying of a small group, "based in Europe", suggesting that this group is the "Association for Free Software". The article seems thus very much inspired by McCarthy's FSA-related press briefings.
- Arlene McCarthy: The little fry patently needs protection
- Arlene McCarthy responds to an article on the danger of software patents by Richard Stallman and Nick Hill and reiterates her viewpoint that
- she is not making software as such but only software inventions patentable and this is very different from the US situation
- SMEs need software patents
- various institutional disequilibria make it impossible to avoid software patents
- she has introduced helpful amendment proposals to safeguard interoperability
. The fallacies have been pointed out before. The last assertion is a lie in the strictest sense of the term.
- COMPUTASSIST - Linux
- Free software advocacy page, names as an advantage of using free software that "No 'Free Software Alliance' will threaten your business with audits, lawsuite or fines".
- Arlene McCarthy MEP and Software Patents
- British Member of the European Parliament, Labor/PSE, appointed by the Europarl Committtee for Legal Affairs and Internal Market (JURI) in 2002/03 to report on the software patentability directive. In June 2002 Arlene McCarthy published a short report which aggressively promoted the agenda of the European Patent Office (EPO). The paper charged the patent critics of having provided only invalid arguments, but failed to quote or refute any of these arguments. Meanwhile various people from the EPO and patent lobby were in contact with McCarthy and boasted that their viewpoint would prevail and the discussion would soon be over. A hearing arranged by McCarthy and the europarl webspace dedicated to the hearing both offered minimal room for critical views. Arlene McCarthy's draft report of 2003/02/19, her explanatory note of 2003/05/03 and her refusal to accept any amendments which limit patentability or patent enforcability in any way show complete dedication to the interests of patent owners. While staying away from all informed discussions and conferences on software patent questions, McCarthy has actively reaching out to the media in order to present herself as a victim of a "dishonest and destructive misinformation campaign" who is sincerely trying to limit patentability. McCarthy has been serving the recording industry and various projects of the Commission's Directorate for the Internal Market (Bolkestein) with equal fervor. McCarthy's political business model appears to consist in (1) aggressively and unconditionally serving of the Commission and big business (2) obtaining favorabl treatment by Commission and Big Business for her electoral region / constituency.
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