The FFII is a global network of associations dedicated to information about free and competitive software markets, genuine open standards and patent systems with lesser barriers to competition. The FFII contributions enabled the rejection of the EU software patent directive in July 2005, working closely with the European Parliament and many partners from industry and civil society. CNET awarded the FFII the Outstanding contribution to software development prize for this work. FFII continues to defend your right to a free and competitive software market and informational freedom.
Hot topics
Press releases
01 Apr 2012: EU Patent Court will be located in Sealand, ministers say
28 Mar 2012: 1&1 Internet AG receives German Document Freedom Award
17 Feb 2012: EuroParliament to exclude Free Software with patents and FRAND
10 Feb 2012: European Standardisation Reform lowers the bar
26 Jan 2012: Poland is not lost - could challenge ACTA at the ECJ
23 Jan 2012: EP legal service consistently overlooks known issues with ACTA
09 Nov 2011: FFII objects to secret European Parliament meeting on ACTA
14 Oct 2011: FFII urges EP Civil Liberties Committee to formulate opinion on ACTA
24 May 2011: FFII calls upon European Parliament to resolve uncertainties regarding ACTA
18 Apr 2011: Commissioner Malmström delays revocation of EU data retention directive
14 Apr 2011: Share your operating system bundling tales with the EU
31 Mar 2011: FFII recommends EU to remove barriers for startups
30 Mar 2011: Tagesschau.de awarded for the use of Open Standards
25 Mar 2011: Patent wars on - Microsoft sues Android retailers
21 Mar 2011: European Parliament wants to make software producers liable for defects
11 Mar 2011: FFII supports asking an ECJ opinion on ACTA
08 Feb 2011: EU study advocates a European Criminal Court
19 Jan 2011: Open Letter to MEPs on Unitary Patent as Enhanced Cooperation
05 Jan 2011: FFII requests proof ACTA's criminal measures are essential
More press releases
Activities
Find out more...
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FFII supports the EU Hackathon The Hack4Transparency event will take place from Tuesday 8 to Wednesday 9 November 2011 and will be the first-ever ‘hackathon’ within the European Parliament. |
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On Document Freedom Day 2011 (March 30th) tagesschau.de was awarded by FSFE and FFII for making their programs available in the open video format "Ogg Theora". (More info) |
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In a confidential manner the EU, US and Japan negotiate an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). No official drafts are published. ACTA will contain a new international benchmark for legal frameworks on the enforcement of copyrights, trade mark rights, patents and others. FFII ACTA WG presents an analysis of the planned Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Please follow our ACTA blog for the latest developments. |
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FFII analyses a new European Interoperability Framework 2.0 Draft. FFII explains why a release in its current form would undermine interoperability enforcement. The new draft is a follow-up to a famous earlier document 1.0 with a strong emphasis on genuine open standards (and open source). The FFII makes 10 recommendations on how to improve the EIF 2.0. |
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New European petition to stop software patents: With support the FFII and others, software developers launched a petition in 28 languages to stop software patents and protect European innovators. It requests legislative clarifications to clear out the legal uncertainty and imbalances created by software patents. We encourage you to sign the petition, |
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Bilski case at the Supreme Court: The FFII and IP Justice filed a joint Amicus Curiae Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case Bilski v. Kappos is expected to become a landmark ruling on the future of the U.S. patent system. Our Brief explains the dangers of software and business methods, the interlink between both, and points out alternatives to the so called Machine-or-Transformation test used for categorizing patents. Copies of our Brief were provided to each of the Justices and to a large number of depositories around the US. Bilski v. Kappos is considered the single most important decision worldwide on the issue of patents on business methods, software and algorithms since the rejection of the EU Software Patents Directive. Read more. |
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EPO Referral on the question of software patents. Interested parties were invited to file statements - Amicus Briefs - to the EPO Enlarged Board Of Appeal. The FFII created a working group to contribute to the referral, and a dedicated staff team worked full time on this issue. The FFII submitted a statement, helped other players and raised awareness to many affected corporations about the Referral. More than 89 statements have been published by the EPO Register. Find out more about the G3-08 Referral. |
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