Dear list members/NetBSD project

I'm not entirely certain whether this is the correct mailing list to address
this issue, but browsing through the list, none seemed more appopriate.
(there is no netbsd-politics@netbsd.org ;-) )

This mail is not primarily about directly advocating NetBSD, but rather
about indirect advocacy by endorsement of the activities of another
group very concerned about free software (free as in freedom, not free 
beer).
This mail may read like a shameless plug for this organization, but I
sincerely hope that an endorsement by the NetBSD project will lead to
positive media attention for the NetBSD project as well.

As a mostly volunteer driven open source OS project I guess the NetBSD
project has to be very concered about making sure that no code infringing
on copyrights or (software) patents enters the code base; both could easily
lead to bankruptcy from hefty legal fees alone.

Copyright infringements seem (to me) to be the lesser of these two
problems, and is handled by having only trusted committers submitting
their (legally) own work, and a CVS system tracking the gradual changes
over the years. Patent infringements are an entirely different ballgame;
even with extreme dilligence on the part of developers, software may
unknowingly infringe on patents. This is partially due to the often very
broad scope and circumlocutory wording of claims, which makes properly
searching patent databases a daunting task to say the least.

In the USA software patents are a fact of life, and I'm sure most of us
are aware of their problems. In the EU they do currently not exist (at
least, not legally), but there is a strong drive fueled by a few large
companies (mostly interested in stifling competition) and national and
European patent offices (mostly interested in new "legal business"
opportunities) towards implementing them "American style".

The European parliament has voted against the legislation proposed
by the European commission (note: the European commission is more
or less the equivalent of the government/administration). The European
commission is now seeking to implement the legislation without
parliamentary approval (democracy European style).

In short, my questions are:

- Does the NetBSD project have an opinion about software patents,
  in particular software patents in Europe, and would the NetBSD
  project care to publicly voice such an opinion?

- Would the NetBSD project care to endorse the activities of the
  Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure? ( http://ffii.org/ )

For individuals wishing to voice their support, you can endorse the
Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure by leaving
your signature at http://aktiv.ffii.org/euparl/en .

with kind regards,

Theo Borm.

p.s.
Currently there is a public election for "European of the year"
going on (also open to non-EU-citizens), and if you like you can
vote for the NoSoftwarePatents campaign leader by following
the instructions here:
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/ev50/vote.html