Vrijschrift
Encyclopedia
Vrijschrift is a Dutch organization concerned with freedom of information. From the objectives,: "Vrijschrift creates awareness about the economic and social meaning of free knowledge and culture for our society. Vrijschrift fulfills both a protecting and promoting role. Internationally Vrijschrift works together with the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure
, the Free Software Foundation Europe
, Project Gutenberg
and a lot of other organisations."
The organisation has protested about Trend Micro
's suing of users of a rival product that Trend claims infringes on a software patent they hold on virus scanning on email gateways.
Vrijschrift has been formed informal in 1999 because the philosophy Free Software Foundation
was not carried out well in the Netherlands.
In 2001, the plan was launched to set up a mirror for Project Gutenberg
. Internet Service Provider
XS4ALL
wanted to help and sponsored a server. Later on this turned out to be a risky operation because the Dutch server would contain copyrighted material
that was already in the public domain
in the US due to differences in law and published book versions. At the same time concerns about the software patent directive from Brussels grew, an earlier idea about applying copyleft principles on learning books was developed and an attempt was made to introduce it - strengthened with a European subsidy. The latter failed of misunderstandings by the crew of commissioner Viviane Reding
and it was hard to fit in the program.
In 2003, Wiebe van der Worp founded Vrijschrift.org officially. Nowadays Vrijschrift is characterized as a small but strong organization which is politically and financially independent and both has technical and legal expertise.
Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure
The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure or FFII is a non-profit organisation based in Munich, Germany, dedicated to establishing a free market in information technology, by the removal of barriers to competition...
, the Free Software Foundation Europe
Free Software Foundation Europe
The Free Software Foundation Europe was founded in 2001 as an official European sister organization of the U.S.-based Free Software Foundation to take care of all aspects of free software in Europe. FSF and FSFE are financially and legally separate entities.FSFE believes that access to and...
, Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
and a lot of other organisations."
ScriptumLibre
Vrijschrift started an international branch called ScriptumLibre which is the literal translation of the Dutch term Vrijschrift into Latin. In plain English it means free writing, free script.The organisation has protested about Trend Micro
Trend Micro
Trend Micro Inc. is a computer security company. It is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and markets Trend Micro Internet Security, Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security, OfficeScan, and other related security products and services...
's suing of users of a rival product that Trend claims infringes on a software patent they hold on virus scanning on email gateways.
Projects
- Vrijschrift was involved during the political fight against software patentsDirective on the patentability of computer-implemented inventionsThe Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions , procedure number 2002/0047 was a proposal for a European Union directive aimed to harmonise national patent laws and practices concerning the granting of patents...
in The Hague and Brussels. Members of Vrijschrift played a key role within the FFIIFoundation for a Free Information InfrastructureThe Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure or FFII is a non-profit organisation based in Munich, Germany, dedicated to establishing a free market in information technology, by the removal of barriers to competition...
. - Vrijschrift started the FreE-learning project, which aims at stimulating free educational content under copyleft licenseCopyleftCopyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
. The European CommissionEuropean CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
refused funding and all attempts in The Hague have failed so far. - Together with FFIIFoundation for a Free Information InfrastructureThe Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure or FFII is a non-profit organisation based in Munich, Germany, dedicated to establishing a free market in information technology, by the removal of barriers to competition...
the 'Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive' or 'IPRED' was countered. - Vrijschrift plays a role in the implementation of the Dutch part of the OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Two major driving forces behind the establishment and growth of OSM have been restrictions on use or availability of map information across much of the world and the advent of inexpensive portable GPS devices.The...
project as an umbrella organization. - Concerning OOXML Vrijschrift had a seat at the Dutch standardization institute NEN.
- The international 'Translation ProjectTranslation ProjectFounded in 2003, the Translation Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501 C 3 umbrella organization for bringing innovative Iranian-inspired , projects to audiences through literary and multimedia events....
' coordinates activities of developers and translators of free softwareFree softwareFree 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...
and is hosted by Vrijschrift.
History
Vrijschrift is a foundation and its official Dutch name is 'Stichting Vrijschrift.org' (Vrijschrift.org Foundation). It is a legal entity since 2003 although activities started in 1999.Vrijschrift has been formed informal in 1999 because the philosophy Free Software Foundation
Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
was not carried out well in the Netherlands.
In 2001, the plan was launched to set up a mirror for Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
. Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
XS4ALL
XS4ALL
XS4ALL is the third-oldest Internet service provider in the Netherlands, after NLnet and SURFnet. However, XS4ALL was the first company to offer Internet access to individuals, since 1993...
wanted to help and sponsored a server. Later on this turned out to be a risky operation because the Dutch server would contain copyrighted material
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...
that was already in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
in the US due to differences in law and published book versions. At the same time concerns about the software patent directive from Brussels grew, an earlier idea about applying copyleft principles on learning books was developed and an attempt was made to introduce it - strengthened with a European subsidy. The latter failed of misunderstandings by the crew of commissioner Viviane Reding
Viviane Reding
Viviane Reding is a Luxembourgian politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. Before starting a professional career as a journalist for the leading newspaper in Luxembourg, the Luxemburger Wort, she obtained a doctorate in human sciences...
and it was hard to fit in the program.
In 2003, Wiebe van der Worp founded Vrijschrift.org officially. Nowadays Vrijschrift is characterized as a small but strong organization which is politically and financially independent and both has technical and legal expertise.