On 5 January 2004 the Irish Free Software Organisation (IFSO) was launched. Since June 2003, members of a European free software mailing list have been collaborating on issues such as software patents, and the European Copyright Directive. One of the founders, Ciaran O'Riordan, comments: "With Ireland holding the presidency of the EU for the next six months, political lobbying in Ireland will be of increased importance. The fate of the software patentability directive is still undecided, and we now also have the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive to deal with. In the coming months, we also hope to work on spreading education and adoption of Free Software in Ireland."

Irish Free Software Organisation
http://ifso.info/

Ciaran O'Riordan
http://www.compsoc.com/~coriordan/

The European Commission has concluded a three-day hearing against Microsoft. Several competing companies made presentations to the Commission during the hearing. RealNetworks and Sun Microsystems, as well as the Computer and Communications Industry Association have accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant position in the market. The hearing, which took place on 12, 13 and 14 November, is the last step in a lengthy anti-trust probe.

The Commission has been investigating Microsoft practices since 2000, following a complaint by Sun Microsystems. Sun accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant position in the market by not releasing crucial information about the communication between computers and servers running MS Windows.

A draft law, currently discussed in parliament in Bulgaria, will oblige all governmental institutions to use free software and open formats with their computer information systems within 2 years. The law addresses all state bodies, mayors of municipalities and regions, higher schools, medical establishments, non-profit legal entities as well as other bodies and entities that receive governmental funding.