Re: [Patents] close relations between Fourtou and MS ?

[Hartmut Pilch <phm@a2e.de>]

> Janelly Fourtou, a key Member of the European Parliament (member of the
> JURI commission in charge of the software patents directive), could have
> close relations with Microsoft.
>
> Her husband (Jean-René Fourtou, CEO of Vivendi Universal) wants to sell
> Vivendi Universal Video Games division to Microsoft (the decision isn't
> yet taken) and now the NY Times says that MS is also interested in the
> large Music division.
>
> The article:
> <http://www.nypost.com/business/33958.htm>

For those who don't know it, we need to add:  Fourtou is one of the most
aggressive promoters of software patentability in the European Parliament.
She has been pushing for program claims in CULT and ITRE but failed.
In JURI sessions so far she praised McCarthy and proposed to "improve"
McCarthy's version by adding program claims.

According to reliable sources, some of Fourtou's amendment proposals were
written by Alcatel patent lawyers.  This in itself is not reproachable, as
some of the Greens/EFA amendment proposals are also indebted to lobbyists
such as ourselves.  The problem is rather that Fourtou understands very
little and seems uninterested in promoting an informed debate on the
matter.  The only visible interest which she could have in the matter is
the private interest exposed by Sylvain above.

One recent tactic of Fourtou has been to complain that we are "attacking
her personally".  In complete lack of factual arguments, trying to
portrain herself (and McCarthy) as victims of a witch hunt may be a good
tactical option for her, and by writing these few lines I may have
delivered additional fodder for it.  Anyway, readers here should know the
facts.

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. +49-89-12789608
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       http://swpat.ffii.org/
140,000 signatures against software patents      http://www.noepatents.org/