EuroLinux is a campaigning organisation that promotes open source software / free software

Free software

Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

 in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, and that are opposed to the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

's proposals to introduce laws on software patent

Software patent

Software patent does not have a universally accepted definition. One definition suggested by the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure is that a software patent is a "patent on any performance of a computer realised by means of a computer program".In 2005, the European Patent Office...

s. It is also known as EuroLinux Alliance.
It is not the umbrella organisation for Linux User Group

Linux User Group

A Linux User Group or Linux Users' Group or GNU/Linux User Group is a private, generally non-profit or not-for-profit organization that provides support and/or education for Linux users, particularly for inexperienced users...

s in Europe.

It describes itself as: "The EuroLinux Alliance for a Free Information Infrastructure

Free Information Infrastructure

Free Information Infrastructure is a term used primarily in Europe mirroring the official US term National Information Infrastructure, introduced in early nineties by a U.S. Patent Office paper...

 is an open coalition of commercial companies and non-profit associations united to promote and protect a vigorous European Software Culture based on copyright

Copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

, open standard

Open standard

An open standard is a standard that is publicly available and has various rights to use associated with it, and may also have various properties of how it was designed . There is no single definition and interpretations vary with usage....

s, 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 system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

s such as Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

, Mac OS

Mac OS

Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...

 or Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

."

Eurolinux organised the public EU campaign against software patents that was signed by more than 300,000 people. Members include FFII

FFII

FFII may refer to:* Final Fantasy II, a video game* Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, a video game* Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure, a non-profit organisation dedicated to establishing a free market in information technology...

, APRIL, AFUL, AEL, and European Linux user group (LUG) umbrella associations.

See also

• European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations
  European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations
  DIGITALEUROPE is European digital economy based in Brussels, Belgium. The association represents the interests of both national associations and corporate organisations operating in the information technology and consumer electronics sector in Europe towards The European parliament and the European...
  
  (EICTA)

External links

• Web site
• Old petition for a software patent-free Europe (archive.org copy)