On September 1st the European parliament will vote on a directive that legalizes software patents in Europe. If this directive comes through we will be stuck with software patents in the foreseeable future. The FFII (The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure) is organizing a conference in Brussels on August 27 as a last minute protest to raise the attention of yet undecided members of the parliament and asks webmasters to close their websites on August 27th.
The Proposal for a software patent directive, which will be submitted to the European Parliament for decision on September 1st, is giving rise to another wave of protests. The Eurolinux Alliance is calling for participation in a rally in Brussels on August 27th, comprising a street performance at 12.00 beside the European Parliament and a conference at 14.00 in the European Parliament, and for accompanying online demonstrations.
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Some interesting links from GNU: